BankDirect is also mortgage direct

"Mortgage brokers can’t get loans from Bank Direct – unless, of course, it’s for their own homes," says the ASB Bank subsidiary’s current television advertisement.

Jim Anderson at Bank Direct insists that his bank’s isn’t an anti-broker strategy.

"We wanted to establish where we were in the market. We’ve been no brokers, no branches since our inception in 1997," Anderson says.

"Now is an opportune time to reinforce to the market where we’re coming from. There does seem to be a bit of confusion in the market as to who’s offering what."