NSW-based brokerage Regional Finance Solutions is in a period of growth, hoping to increase its loan volumes and broker team in the coming year.
Managing director David Traynor told
Australian Broker that the firm hoped to reach $250m in loan settlements in the 2018 financial year, raising the bar from the $100m the firm brought in FY17.
The added growth was expected due to the firm’s growing team with six brokers joining over the last couple of months, he said. This puts the entire Regional Finance Solutions team at 20 brokers across a number of rural areas in NSW including the North Coast, Northern Rivers, New England, the North West, Central West and Western Districts.
“It’s a huge area,” Traynor said. “We’re actually in the process of finding someone in the Southern Highlands and we’re talking to someone on the South Coast of NSW as well at the moment. Our reach could go a little bit further.”
With the current team, Regional Finance Solutions was already bringing in $18m to $20m per month, he added.
The firm offers a “cradle to grave” approach to funding, he said.
“The target is to get a young kid at 18 buying their first car and when they turn 75, we’ll have a reverse mortgage for them if required. We want to be there to take the pace and be their personal banker for life.”
The current team consists of rural, commercial and residential specialists, he said, allowing the firm to use these resources and maximise the opportunity for clients.
“We’re required to work between regions but the intent is to always have a commercial specialist and a residential specialist in the same location. But when we go to a new place, we might only have one broker or sometimes you might pick up two or three, so we share it around as each individual team needs.”
Regional Finance Solutions’ setup combines a standalone office with mobile brokers working from home, Traynor said. The office shares premises with a separate accountancy firm which also helps with referrals.
The firm also holds its own credit licence and has set up its own panel of small credit unions to engage with lenders that other brokers have overlooked and provide a different range of products and services. The panel includes Northern Inland Credit Union, Coastline Credit Union and Summerland Credit Union.
“While these credit unions offer a similar product range to the banks, what they do provide is great service. They’re much smaller so it’s a more personal service. It’s quicker. There is a lot more personal engagement than the sausage factories of the larger institutions. It’s just a very much personalised offering.”
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