Cash incentives lure borrowers
Two lenders are using cash incentives to draw customers away from CBA and Westpac.
Over the weekend National Australia Bank announced it would reimburse customers of CBA and Westpac the $700 mortgage exit fees those lenders charge if they switched to NAB.
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Speaking about the offer, NAB’s head of personal banking Lisa Gray said the offer would be available until the end of April, when it would be reviewed.
NAB scrapped its exit fees in November last year at the same time as ANZ. However, both Westpac and CBA retained theirs.
NAB is not the only lender to make an obvious grab for market share, ING DIRECT is also looking to take a greater slice of the pie, with the lender announcing its plans to reignite the $1000 cash incentive program it launched last year.
In November 2010, ING DIRECT offered to pay $1,000 to any customer that switched their home loan to the lender and opened up an everyday savings transaction account.
An ING Direct spokesperson said more than 3000 applications had been received throughout the month that the cash incentive was available.
“It was so successful and we are looking to ramp it up again,” the spokesperson said.
Last year, ING DIRECT’s executive director of mortgages Lisa Claes said the cash incentive was developed to encourage borrowers to use their feet to show their dissatisfaction with the majors.
“If customers become more mobile, banks will be forced to offer better value and better service,” Ms Claes said.