Rains says advisers now the go-to for lending
When interest rates shift sharply, the impact on borrowers can be brutal. Mortgage adviser Kurt Rains has seen firsthand how break costs of $10,000-$30,000 left some clients regretting poorly timed fixed-rate decisions – lessons that continue to shape his approach to broking today.
From banking to broking
Rains has spent over a decade in the financial services industry, starting his career at ANZ in 2010 before becoming a mortgage broker in 2018.
“I have been a mortgage broker since 2018. Starting with Saving Kiwis, a nominated Rising Star for Financial Advice NZ 2021, Top Brokerage NZA 2025. I have been in the financial industry for over 12 years with a banking career started at ANZ 2010,” he says.
Mentorship from Saving Kiwis director Nick McCorkindale, a top NZ mortgage adviser, played a pivotal role in his journey.
“Nick McCorkindale, director of Saving Kiwis, has been a fantastic mentor (and has) over 25 years in the industry. He has seen a lot of ups and downs and is able to share these moments,” Rains says.
Interest rate lessons: Break costs and tough conversations
One of Rains’ most memorable professional experiences came during a period of rapidly falling interest rates.
“Memorable movements; we are now going into a second period of interest rates declining, I go back to from 2018 to 2021 when rates moved from high 6%pa into the 2%pa bracket,” he says.
For some clients, poor advice or a lack of guidance came at a heavy cost.
“The break cost to get out of a higher interest rate and poor advice is expensive,” Rains says. “People calling through that had not sought advice and fixed long in the declining interest rate environment having 10-30k or more break fees. Some tough conversations and also calculations to work out if they are going to save any interest cost by breaking and fixing lower.”
These experiences, he says, underline the importance of timely, professional mortgage advice.
Growing trust in advisers
Rains believes one of the most positive developments in the industry has been the shift in trust from banks to advisers.
“Shift of trust to adviser being the go-to knowledgeable base for residential lending. We have our fingers on the pulse of the industry and know what is going on over all the banks. This means our clients are coming to us over and over again,” he says.
Rains added that advisers are now seen as long-term partners.
“A shift from ‘my branch manager will look after me’ to ‘my adviser can,’” he says. “Advisers have been around a long time, and you often find long spanning careers which means you can be helping two to three generations of the same family.”
Industry challenges
As demand for broker services grows, Rains sees service speed as a key challenge.
“Speed of service, as the amount of mortgage advisers has grown and the percentage of New Zealanders using brokers grows, the demand for service through the banking adviser channels is peaking. We are becoming a victim of our own success,” he says.
“Quality applications is going to be a key to bringing the turnaround times down and advising our clients of the time frames to meet their needs.”
Advice for new advisers
For aspiring brokers, Rains emphasises the importance of building strong connections.
“Network, network, network,” he says. “If you don’t have the connections, you will have to pay a lot for advertising, and this is an industry where you are dealing with people's lives and financials. You need to be known and trusted for people to approach and open their personal finances too.”
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