Why does it take a "breakup" for your bank to care?

Why your bank’s loyalty is a one-way street.

If you opened the Australian Financial Review today, you might have seen a revealing piece by James Eyres. It confirms something we’ve been shouting from the rooftops at My Mortgage Freedom: The big banks are officially playing games with your money.

The article highlights that banks like ANZ and CBA are now "throwing the kitchen sink" at customers - offering $2,000 cash payments and sudden rate drops of 20 basis points - but only after they receive a discharge form.

The Integrity Gap

We call this the "Breakup Bouquet." It’s like a partner who ignores you for years, only to show up with a bunch of flowers and a diamond ring the moment they see the removalist truck in the driveway.

As your brokers, we spend our days battling these lenders. We call them, we provide evidence of better rates, and we ask them to "come to the party" for our existing clients. More often than not, they say "no they’re on our best rate."

But the moment we submit that discharge paperwork? Suddenly, a new rate market appears.

Why this lacks integrity

If a bank has the capacity to offer you a better rate or a cash sweetener today, why aren't they offering it to you as a reward for your loyalty? Instead, they wait until you are forced to spend time and effort looking elsewhere. They are banking on the "Loyalty Tax" - the hope that you’ll be too busy or too tired to actually leave.

How we fight back

At MyMF, we don’t just accept their first "no." We use specific "retention hacks" to trigger their internal teams. Sometimes, we have to strategically initiate the discharge process just to force them to reveal their actual floor rate. We’re here to make sure you aren't being "bribed" to stay on a loan that still isn't the best in the market. A $2,000 one-off payment doesn’t make up for an interest rate that’s 0.40% higher than it should be.

Here’s a snap shot of what the long game looks like:

The Bottom Line: Don’t let a last-minute "sugar hit" blind you to long-term savings. If your bank only values you when you're leaving, maybe it’s time to find a lender that values you while you’re there.

We poke the bear at least annually, and if you are on Rate Tracker this happens in real time. If you have anyone else who’s broker isn’t doing this for them, here's a link to share with them so they can have a chat with our team about getting the support you get.

To your financial freedom,

The My Mortgage Freedom Team

‍