Customers applying for a loan directly from NAB are being unconditionally approved in less than two days on average, down from four days on average six months ago, NAB’s latest results show.
Customers applying for a NAB home loan through a broker are now getting the green light in half the time they were just six months ago with quicker, more consistent outcomes because of simpler policies and processes.
About 35% of NAB customers are also unconditionally approved in less than an hour.
The reduced times as part of the bank’s Simple Home Loans process were detailed in NAB’s Half Year Results released on 5 May.
NAB Group Executive Personal Banking Rachel Slade said building Australia’s simplest home loan was part of serving customers well.
“Customers are telling us receiving a fast decision is critical. It provides certainty and confidence to help them get into a property,” Ms Slade said.
NAB customer Peta Lawrence said the pre-approval process was easy.
“I saw the property on the Saturday morning, spoke to NAB at lunchtime and was pre-approved by late afternoon,” Ms Lawrence said.
“I was not expecting it to happen that quickly. I did a little victory dance when I found out.
“I put in an offer Monday morning and it was accepted by Monday night. I’m moving in this week,” she said.
Ms Lawrence said the process for getting pre-approval to buy the unit in Sydney’s inner south in March was different to when she first bought a home.
“When I first got a home loan 20 years ago you went into the bank and sat with the bank manager. This time it was a Zoom appointment. Everything was on the screen and very visible and straight forward,” she said.
Ms Slade said customers were increasingly choosing to bank digitally.
“We are going to keep rolling out Simple Home Loans over the next two years so more and more customers can have this simple and digital experience,” she said.
“We also have a range of budgeting and planning tools, including a loan repayment calculator, that can help customers wanting more control of their money so they’re in a strong position when they apply for a home loan.”
