What do I say when I call the retention team?

Keep it simple: you're not happy with how the loan is set up at the moment, you've seen another lender offering a better rate, sometimes with a cashback as well, and you'd like them to match it or improve yours. A specific offer you've actually seen carries more weight than a vague ask. There's no application and no paperwork, it's just a conversation.

What will the retention team actually offer?

One of three things. They say no, which tells you they're comfortable losing you. They match the offer, which is a genuine win from one phone call. Or, commonly, they offer a smaller discount designed to keep you happy for the next little while. All three are useful information about where you stand with your lender.

Is a retention offer as good as refinancing?

Sometimes. The catch is that a retention discount is measured against your current rate, not against the whole market, so it can feel like a win while still leaving a gap. Put the offer next to a whole-of-market comparison before you settle back in. If it stands up, staying is genuinely the right move: no discharge, no new application, no switching hassle.

How often should my home loan be reviewed?

In my client process, every three months. I review the loan and the structure and put a pricing request in to the lender. Sometimes the lender knocks that request back, and that's exactly when a call from you to the retention team can succeed where the broker request didn't, because you're the customer they'd actually be losing.

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Straight Answers · Refinancing

Should I call my bank's retention team myself?

Bayley Clarke · Mortgage broker on the road · Last checked 24 August 2026 · 5 min read

The short answer

Yes, why not? Don't ask, don't get. Call them, tell them you're not happy with how things are set up, tell them what you've seen another lender offering, and ask: can you match it? Can you reduce my rate?

The worst they're going to say is no. The best they're going to say is yes. Somewhere in the middle, they give you a little bit of a discount just to keep you happy for the next little while. Nine times out of ten, it's worth your time. The rest of this page is what to say, and the one thing to check before you take the offer.

The 60 second version. The rest of this page is the detail underneath it.

What the retention team is there to do

Most lenders have a team whose whole job is keeping customers who look like leaving. When you ring up sounding like you're going, that's who you end up talking to, and they can usually move your rate in a way the everyday service line can't.

The mechanics are simple. If they really think they're going to lose you, one of two things happens: they don't care, and they lose you, or they care enough, and they drop your rate. Either way you learn something. A no from the retention team is not a dead end, it's information about how much your lender values keeping you.

I'll be straight about where I sit in all this. The retention desk is the biggest competitor I have. Not another broker, not a comparison site: the team at your own bank whose job is keeping you exactly where you are. That's not a complaint. It just helps to know whose job is what before you pick up the phone.

The call itself: what to say

You don't need a script, and you don't need to be aggressive. Something like: "I'm not happy with how things are set up at the moment. I've seen another lender offering a better rate, and they've got a cashback as well. Can you match it? Can you reduce my rate?"

A specific offer you've actually seen carries more weight than a vague "can you do better". Have the other lender's offer in front of you when you call, even just on your phone.

That's the whole call. No application, no paperwork, no cost, nothing on your credit file. Just a conversation with someone who has a discount they're allowed to hand out.

The three ways it goes

What they say	What it tells you	What to do next
No	They're comfortable losing you	Get a whole-of-market comparison done. The market is telling you more than your lender is
A small discount	The middle outcome, and the common one: enough to keep you happy for the next little while	Take it. Then check what it's actually worth against the market before you settle back in
Yes, matched	You just improved your loan with one phone call	Take the win, and put a note in your calendar to do it again, because rates keep moving

Notice that every branch ends well. That's why the answer to this page's question is yes. There is no version of this call that leaves you worse off than not making it.

The catch: what the discount is measured against

Here's the part worth slowing down on. "A little bit of a discount to keep you happy for the next little while" is doing a lot of work in that sentence, because that's exactly what it's designed to be. A retention offer is measured against your current rate, not against the whole market. It's built to be better than what you're on. It is not built to be the best available.

So the offer usually lands just close enough that moving stops feeling worth the effort. That's not a trick, it's just how retention works, and it's why the only way to know what the offer is worth is to put it next to a proper comparison across lenders. Sometimes the retention offer stands up. Sometimes the gap it leaves behind is still costing you real money every month, and it only feels small because the reference point was your own loan.

One more thing from inside my process. I review my clients' loans and loan structure every three months, and part of that is putting a pricing request in to the lender. Sometimes the lender knocks it back, and that happens. That's exactly the moment your own call can work where mine didn't, because when you ring, the person they'd be losing is on the phone. The broker request and your phone call aren't competing tools. They're the same lever pulled from two ends.

The honest bit: sometimes staying put is the right answer

This is the part that costs me business, and it's still true. If the retention team drops your rate to something a whole-of-market comparison can't meaningfully beat, staying is the right move. No discharge paperwork, no new application, no settlement dates, no re-doing your direct debits. One phone call fixed it, and you should feel good about that, not wonder if you missed something.

If you like your lender and the loan structure is right for you, the retention call is the cheapest fix in home lending. I'd rather you make it than sit on a rate you're unhappy with because refinancing feels like a project.

The only thing I'd ask: know what the offer is being measured against before you accept it. Take the discount either way. Just don't let the discount be the end of the conversation if the gap left over is still wide.

Got a retention offer in your hand?

Make the call to your bank first if you like. Then bring me whatever they offered, and I'll put it next to the whole market. If your bank's offer stands up, I'll tell you to stay, and you've lost nothing. If it doesn't, you'll see exactly what staying is costing you, in dollars, before you decide anything.

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No application, no credit check, nothing on your file. Just the numbers.

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