McCorkindale on mortgage broking, client trust, and industry change
Nick McCorkindale (pictured) has spent more than two decades helping Kiwis turn their homeownership dreams into reality.
From launching mortgage franchises with old schoolmates to guiding clients through life’s milestones, his career has been built on trust, persistence, and a genuine passion for making finance personal.
From franchising beginnings to lifelong broking
McCorkindale’s journey into mortgage advising began with friendship, timing, and a desire to help Kiwis into homes.
“In 2000, I joined a couple of schoolmates, Karl Baker and Lawrence Diack, who’d been mortgage broking in Wellington for a few years to franchise out their company Approved Mortgage Brokers,” he says.
Alongside another long-time friend, Mike Beal, McCorkindale launched the Auckland franchise with a simple but bold marketing approach.
“We launched the Approved Mortgage Brokers Auckland business with a full-page ad in the Yellow Pages,” McCorkindale says. “We were mortgage broking ourselves while developing and rolling out the franchise system and got up to 12 franchises across Wellington and Auckland until we sold to NZ Finance (who later bought half of Mike Pero) in 2006.”
After selling the franchise, he stepped back from management to focus on clients and family.
“I moved out of the franchise management and set up a home office, focusing solely on mortgage broking and being around my young family,” McCorkindale says.
Industry growth and rising standards
Over his 26-year career, McCorkindale has watched the industry evolve from a loosely regulated niche to a mainstream part of the lending ecosystem.
“I think the higher standards to be a mortgage broker have lifted the entire industry,” he says. “In the early days there were some real cowboys out there who weren’t looking after people and risked giving the industry a bad name.”
Today, brokers are responsible for 65% to 70% of all new lending, and client complaints are rare – a sign of how far the profession has come.
“Despite this huge number, complaints around mortgage broker conduct are few and far between, which is something the industry should be very proud of, given its humble origins,” McCorkindale says.
Banking bottlenecks remain a challenge
While the profession has matured, McCorkindale says one challenge persists: banks’ slow processing times.
“The main challenge to the industry remains the banks’ under-resourcing of broker units and brokers having to front two weeks’ wait times before a loan will even be looked at,” he says.
With the majority of new business now coming through brokers, he believes lenders need to step up.
“With so much business coming through the brokers, I think it’s well overdue that the banks start returning the favour so that our clients are not disadvantaged using a broker,” McCorkindale says.
The reward of long-term relationships
For McCorkindale, the greatest reward in his career has been building relationships that last decades.
“Some of the memorable and satisfying parts of my career have been advising so many clients over the decades from all walks of life with so many different needs,” he says.
McCorkindale has guided clients from first homes to property portfolios – and now, in some cases, their children’s mortgages.
“It’s been a really fun and rewarding experience helping people get better outcomes in their financial lives, reducing stress when buying homes, being a listening ear in difficult times and always trying to be a person they can count on,” he says.
McCorkindale admits that this enduring connection with clients is what will keep him broking until he decides to retire.
Advice for aspiring mortgage advisers
McCorkindale’s guidance for newcomers is simple: focus on people, not just paperwork.
“Make sure you get into it for the right reasons and understand what people are really needing out there,” he says.
While anyone can process an approval, McCorkindale says building a sustainable business comes from relationships and advice.
“New brokers need to know this is a relationship and advice business… We make a big difference for a small amount of extra effort,” he says.
McCorkindale adds that happy clients and repeat referrals are the true measure of a career well built.
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