Broker franchise group Mortgage Choice fell below system growth in loan approvals and also growth in the value of its loan book during the year to June. Approvals were up 17.3 per cent to A$12.2 billion and the loan book grew 4.6 per cent to $47.4 billion, compared with system growth of 5.3 per cent. The high run-off rate that was noted in the December half continued in the second half. Net profit of $19.8 million was up 5.8 per cent per cent on the previous corresponding period. After adjusting for the accounting treatment of trailing commissions and the proceeds of the sale of a mortgage aggregator subsidiary, LoanKit, cash profit increased by 18.6 per cent to $18.7 million. A big positive for the company was an increase in upfront commission rates, which rose from an average of 60.8 basis points to 63.3 bps. The company said this reflected increased competition for mortgage sales. Bankwest and Macquarie Bank led the way, pushing their upfront commissions to 70 bps. Origination commission rose from $51.9 million in 2013/14 to $63.1 million in the year to June. Trailing commission rose from $66.9 million to $74.9 million. Revenue from Mortgage Choice Financial Planning, Help Me Choose and the sale of non-mortgage products rose 71.7 per cent to $13.2 million, accounting for seven per cent of total revenue. The company held growth in operating expenses to just one per cent.