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Over one million home owners in Australia who have outstanding balances on their home loans have taken up the search for a new lender, as a result of increasing dissatisfaction with the big banks

CoreData, a top firm in the field of financial services research, conducted a study with 15,000 home owners which revealed the pervasive belief that major banks are unfairly benefiting from the 0.25 per cent rise in the interest rate issued by the Reserve Bank. Customers are complaining that the bigger lending institutions have increased their home loan rates up to 80 per cent above previous levels.

As a result of this growing displeasure with the Big Four banks, the research from CoreData indicated that 23 per cent of Australian citizens who held a home loan had begun to seek out a new lender. With more than 4 million Australian residents operating a home loan, this translates into over one million who are currently on the market for a change in lenders. One of the more popular alternatives which has been trending well with comparison shoppers is the credit union, an option which has garnered 16 per cent of the new pool of unhappy home owners.

The new figures provide a sharp contrast to similar percentages from CoreData’s study of just a year ago, in which a mere 4 per cent of mortgage holders were seeking a change. CoreData Principal, Andrew Inwood, said that this research highlighted how customer anger with major financial organisations was hitting an all-time high. Inwood further noted that while it is not uncommon for a large percentage of bank customers to communicate a desire to move to a new provider, it is very unusual to witness such a large number of people actually initiate an active search.

Of those surveyed, 43 per cent blamed the Big Four Banks’ decision to raise home loan rates above the standard Reserve Bank increase for their decision to seek out a new home loan provider. For instance, the Commonwealth Bank, who instituted the largest home loan rate increase at 0.45 per cent in November 2010, has taken a hit with regard to their popularity when it comes to being seen as a viable alternative provider.

CoreData’s research shows that the Commonwealth will be the last option on the list of disgruntled customers who are pursuing a new home loan lender, with a mere 0.69 per cent seeking to employ their services. Of the big banks, the ones that customers are willing to most consider for a changeover were NAB and ANZ, who each obtained 3.47 per cent of the over one million home owners making the switch. The single biggest deterrent from following through with this bank exodus, CoreData’s study revealed, were exit fees; a feature which would be eradicated from new home loans beginning next year as part of banking reforms led by Treasurer Wayne Swan.

Lender	Product	Rate	Enquire
	Special Offer Major Bank	5.99%
	NAB Choice Package	6.29%
	St George Advantage Package	6.34%