EY broker research contradicts Choice findings

More than 90 per cent of borrowers who used a broker to find a mortgage were "very" or "fairly" satisfied with the experience, according to a new survey.

The Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia has released the results of research conducted by Ernst & Young, which asked lenders and borrowers to comment on the broker "valuation proposition".

Forty-four per cent of the 700 customers surveyed gave their brokers a rating of nine or ten out of ten.

Seventy per cent of people who used a broker said they would use the same approach in future and a significant number said they would be interested in discussing credit cards and insurance products with their broker.

The release of the EY research follows the publication earlier this month of the results of a shadow shop of mortgage brokers arranged by consumer group Choice.

Choice sent five home buyers to Aussie Home Loans, Mortgage Choice and AFG. It said there were problems with disclosure, product recommendations and client assessments.

Among the problems encountered, a customer seeking to refinance a mortgage while in an insecure employment position was advised to use the equity in the home to borrow more and pay for a holiday or make investments.

One broker pushed his company's own product, while acknowledging that other lenders offered better loans. Two brokers used standard estimates of expenses instead of the customer's own data.