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MIAA supports LIXI

Welcome

LIXI in the real world is the theme of this edition of LIXI@Work and I find it difficult to decide which thread of the lending industry fabric to grab and begin exploring the real application of the standard.

There are many participants in the lending market and I am sure they all want LIXI to concentrate in their corner of the market. If you pick up an industry thread you may unravel a success story in some instances, a new start for others and in quite a few cases the threads lead to nothing at all! Examples of success stories are brokers and lenders with their good track record in using LIXI for loan applications that provide them with new levels of efficiency. Valuers are an example of organisations that are beginning to use the newly released valuation standard but have yet to realise the full spectrum of tangible benefits. However there is the space around settlements and the stages beyond where things are very quiet.

Should we all be alarmed, or worse still admit defeat, because of the gaps in the standard? Positively not, as we have chosen this incremental path on purpose, to match our level of resources and to avoid biting off more than we can chew. Standards and the process of working cooperatively is a new concept for our industry and indeed for many others. Compounding all these difficult tasks is an unconscious reluctance to lay all our cards on the table when designing new standards for fear that we may loose our competitive edge.

Before LIXI started, many industry players considered their competitive edge stretching as far forward as the design of the loan application form and the data that was collected. We are now all standardising on loan application forms and how we collect data.

Myth #1 busted: Your competitive edge is not reliant on your application forms and the different data you collect with respect to your competitors. Proof is LIXI’s track record so far and concepts such as the Trident group.

Myth #2 soon to be busted: Your competitive edge relies on your application processing. NICTA in a joint research program with LIXI will prove that the processes used in the lending industry are very similar so your competitive edge is not there either.

Myth #3 to be busted: Your products are your competitive edge. So far, the LIXI products Working Group is finding it difficult to get runs on the board. The reasons are many but I would like everyone involved to consider this – ask any broker who deals with multi-lender products and they will tell you they are all very similar. My take on this? Your competitive edge is in getting your products to the brokers. For that you need LIXI. So let’s put old concepts aside and work together towards a good products standard. Because we all need LIXI in the real world.

Executive Officer