The Herald Sun reports that ANZ has begun concept tests of a new online mortgage application service for broker intermediaries.
The paper says the new system, known as eMOS, has been under development for some time. An un-named industry source puts the total cost of the project to the bank at A$20 million.
ANZ remains tight-lipped about the system saying only that the bank is "committed to developing a standard for online applications for the broker market".
Australian mortgage brokers currently need to deal with as many as 30 different lenders. Most use paper-based applications forms which are faxed to the lender along with any supporting documentation. According to the Herald Sun, mortgage brokers dealing with ANZ have to fill in up to 40 pages of application forms on behalf of their clients
The head of ANZ's mortgage business, Chris Cooper, declined to comment on the eMOS project to the Herald Sun. A bank spokesman told the paper: "We will not be at a stage where we consider how we move forward until sometime next year."
Rival Westpac introduced an online application system in September 2002 and promises conditional approvals for a plain vanilla mortgage within an hour.
Australian intermediaries have established a Lending Industry XML Forum in an attempt to set standards for online data exchange with lenders.