Also an old face pops up at Mortgage Express.

The other recent news which has had be thinking is the missive from Professional Advisers Association boss Rod Severn to association members. In it he berates them for their poor turnout at the recent roadshows. Added to that there were a high percentage of no-shows from people who said they would attend. (Disclosure: I said yes and did attend!)

What's really got me thinking is how do associations and dealer groups fit together? More importantly this issue ties back to something I said a few weeks ago. Registered Financial Advisers are likely to face major change when the Financial Advisers Act is reviewed. I expect mortgage broker RFAs will have to step up to AFA standards including having a professional development plan. So my question to you is this. What topics and areas would make you attend a one-day conference? Is it sales, motivation, product, technology demonstrations or something else. Please do email me with your feedback.

RATES UPDATE

I was interested to see the Green Party's policy of pumping $100 million of capital into Kiwibank. We were having a look at this idea and wondered how competitive Kiwibank has been on pricing. My perception was that the bank had been pretty sharp on pricing. However, when we played with our mortgage comparison tool it appears they used to be sharp on pricing until the start of last year.

Have a look at this graph to see what I mean.

While on the smaller banks I'd be interested to talk to any mortgage adviser who uses Kiwibank. If that is you please give me a call (0274-377527) or email philip@goodreturns.co.nz

- Philip Macalister