Yellow Brick road founder saves a few swings for government policy, too
City slickers bore witness to Mark Bouris’ pugilistic abilities on Monday morning when the founder of mortgage aggregator Yellow Brick Road threw a symbolic uppercut at interest rates in the Sydney CBD to launch Cut It, a new campaign for homeowners.
He saved a few jabs for Canberra too.
YBR says the average home loan repayment now sits just under $4,400 a month, while the group has also seen a record number of refinancing enquiries over the past month.
With borrowers struggling, Bouris believes owning a home should be an advantage, not a burden.
After landing his own blow, he invited mortgage brokers and members of the public to take out their frustrations on a punching ball.
The stunt landed the day before the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) hands down its November cash rate decision, which is widely expected to push it up to highs not seen since 2008.
"We're saying to borrowers, if your bank won't cut your rate, won't be competitive on your rate, then go see one of your brokers,” Bouris told MPA in a ringside interview. “I don't care who the broker is, it can be YBR, it can be anybody, I don't care. And by the way, there's always someone who lends cheaper, always. That's my experience in 40 years of doing this."
Coming out swinging
Asked which government policy he would most like to KO, Bouris did not need a second round. "Spending," he said. "Go through line by line and cut 20% out of everything. Just cut everything by 20%. That's a good start."
But how is that meant to help struggling Australians he claims to be fighting for?
"Well, the first thing it's going to do is reduce demand within the country that's creating inflation, which is going to stop the Reserve Bank's needing to put interest rates up," he said. "And maybe the Reserve Bank might put interest rates down."
Bouris put the benefit at roughly 30% of the population with a mortgage, plus a similar share of renters facing rent rises from landlords squeezed by higher rates. "So I'm talking about 60% of the population here," he said.
Bouris aimed his sharpest combination at the Albanese government, urging Labor to remember who put it in office.
"Look after the plumbers, the electricians, the carpenters, the concreters, the people who work on the trains and the buses and the shopkeepers," he said. "They're your traditional voters, Labor Party."
He then spoke of his own upbringing in Sydney's south-west. "Stop spending on other people and start looking at saving so those people who traditionally looked after you, people where I come from, the Punchbowl in the western suburbs, start looking after them," he said.
"Not getting on private planes, flying to the Caribbean, attending CHOGM (The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting) meetings, shaking hands with the King of England. What the hell has that got to do with what's going on here in this country?"
Bouris was quick to stress that his campaign is not a pitch for the other side. Asked whether he expects the Coalition opposition to do much better, he kept his guard up.
"So far, no. I don't have any expectations of the opposition right now. And by the way, to be frank with you, I'm not interested in what the opposition is going to do. I'm not interested in what One Nation can do. I'm interested right now in this current government. They're the elected officials. Do your job. That's what you're getting paid for."
Choice words
The combative words come as the major banks push harder into in-house lending, with the Big Four leaning further into proprietary home loans in recent years. Bouris said he understands the banks' motives but doubts borrowers will follow.
"The big banks are always going to try and push back on brokers because they don't like to have to pay the brokerage. It's fair enough, they're trying to increase their profitability, increase their margins. The big banks are going to try and get as much proprietary product as they possibly can, but at the end of the day, consumers aren't dumb. Consumers want choice."
He added that brokers remain best placed to find borrowers the right loan, with one condition. "That's assuming the broker acts in your best interest, which 99.99 per cent of brokers that I know do.”
Rates enter the next round
The RBA's Monetary Policy Board is set to announce its decision at 2.30pm AEDT on Tuesday 3 November. Australia's largest mortgage lenders have staged an about-face on the rate outlook, with Westpac's chief economist calling a November hike the base case.
If the RBA lands another blow, Bouris and his brokers will be waiting with gloves on.
