ANZ and Vincent Capital take overall gold as turnaround times rebound
Bank turnaround times have gone from mortgage advisers’ biggest frustration to their biggest win, according to NZ Adviser’s Advisers on Lenders 2026 report, which named ANZ Bank of New Zealand and Vincent Capital as overall gold medallists.
The second annual survey drew responses from 117 mortgage advisers between 14 June and 12 July 2026, rating lenders across 10 categories. ASB took bank silver and Kiwibank bronze, while Avanti Finance and Go Lend took silver and bronze among specialist lenders.
Turnaround times flip from complaint to win
Speed is where advisers noticed the biggest change. Advisers again ranked it as their top priority, scoring it 4.63 out of 5 for importance. In 2026, 51.14% of advisers said bank turnaround times had improved, up from just 2.24% in 2025. The share saying they had worsened fell from 85.40% to 22.73%.
Channel conflict also eased, with 37.65% of advisers calling it a major problem, down from 57.47%. Pricing moved the other way: 31.52% said product range and pricing had worsened, more than double last year’s figure.
ANZ lifts its game
ANZ retained its overall bank gold, medalling in eight of 10 categories, with seven category wins, including turnaround times. Its overall adviser score climbed from 3.52 to 3.92.
Hayley Burgess, ANZ’s head of mortgage adviser distribution, said the bank acted on direct feedback. “Last year, we heard from advisers that our turnaround times weren’t where they needed to be,” she said. ANZ responded with more resourcing across assessment and business development manager (BDM) teams, deeper assessor training, and a review of where its processes were slowing applications.
CFML Loans wins on price
Among specialist lenders, Auckland-based CFML Loans took gold for interest rates, scoring 3.81 out of 5, the top specialist score for interest rates. The number of advisers rating the lender more than tripled this year.
Among the banks, Bank of China took gold for interest rates, unseating ANZ, which won the category in 2025.
CFML chief executive Johny Kale said the view that non-bank lenders are expensive doesn’t reflect most of the market. “Our approach to pricing is simple: we aim to be fair, transparent and consistent with our clients,” he said. Once an adviser supplies the scenario, security details, and client declaration, CFML can generally return firm pricing within 24 hours.
Even so, advisers made clear that price alone rarely decides where a deal goes. Laura te Kaat, a mobile mortgage adviser at The Mortgage Girls in Christchurch, said: “A sharp rate has little value if the lender cannot assess the application within the finance timeframe or the policy is unclear.”
For the full medal tables, adviser insights, and lender interviews, read NZ Adviser’s Advisers on Lenders 2026 report.
