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The long-awaited government’s shared equity scheme, Help to Buy, will be launching on Friday (5 December) and will initially only be available through two lenders - the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) and Bank Australia.
While Bank Australia has confirmed its Help to Buy Scheme loans will be available through the broker channel, CBA is not doing the same.
When Broker Daily asked whether the broker channel would be able to write these loans as well, it was told that it will not be offered through the broker channel at launch.
Instead, eligible customers will initially only be able to apply through a CommBank Home Lending Specialist.
However, the major bank said this may change in the future.
Baber Zaka, general manager third-party banking at CBA, commented: "Mortgage brokers play an important role in supporting home ownership in Australia, particularly for first home buyers who are navigating the process for the first time.
“The Australian Government Help to Buy scheme is in its early stages, with a limited number of placements.
“While not currently offered through the broker channel at CBA, we continuously review our distribution strategy and that might change in the future.”
He continued: “Brokers have been instrumental in delivering the expanded Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme and CommBank is proud to be a leading lender in that program, working side-by-side with brokers to support more Australians secure their first home.
“Our focus remains on helping customers to achieve their home ownership objectives and on supporting brokers through investing in innovative technology and comprehensive systems that make working with CBA seamless and industry leading.
“We’re continuing to invest in platforms like CommBroker and integrations such as PEXA Settlement, giving brokers near real-time updates on settlements and soon the ability to self-serve escalations. These innovations are designed to save time and help deliver exceptional outcomes for customers."
CBA has been focusing on proprietary home lending in the past few years, with its most recent financial update showing that 68 per cent of new mortgages were originated through its own channels in the September quarter, up from 67 per cent for the full year to June.
This shift has been driven by cheaper rates on digital-only offerings and the hiring of more home lending specialists in branches and comes as the major bank eyes proprietary lending flows to improve margins.
The trend reflects a broader push by the major banks to prioritise proprietary lending, prompting concerns from the broking industry about channel conflict and potential lender bias.
[Related: Help to Buy to start on Friday]