Sally Blackwell, Vicki Cowan and Wokje Abrahamse.
Beacon Pathway collaborated with ANZ Bank New Zealand Ltd. and Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington to co-create and trial an intervention that connected ANZ home loan customers with an independent new-build performance advisor. Market conditions had a significant impact on the final number of research participants which meant it was not possible to fully evaluate the trial. Regardless, the insights gained through the co-creation and trial offer value for banks, home loan customers, advice practitioners and others in the wider housing ecosystem. Trial participants viewed the bank as a neutral third-party well-placed to connect them to personalised new-build performance advice and they considered doing so would lower the risk of the loan for both parties. A customer building-lending journey map highlighted synergies between building, lending and performance that present opportunities for banks and their customers. Conceptually, this goes further than providing information or offering a particular product (although it may include these things), it provides a framework for a bank to engage with and support customers throughout the whole process, recognising the benefits of early engagement. While there may be benefits to banks, and potentially other large institutions, of referring their customers to an independent advisor this is unlikely to be realised without a more mature advice sector.