NLG Leasing has announced a partnership with aggregator
Specialist Finance Group that offers brokers an expanded product portfolio.
“While home loans remain the core of our business, we’ve recognised that diversification is critical for growth in all locations, and have been actively seeking partnerships with niche providers,” said Steve Ayris, national business manager for Specialist Finance Group.
“In Australia, it’s become apparent that asset finance is a growth sector that enables our members to tap into an alternate revenue stream and ring fence clients in the process.”
The partnership gives members of Specialist Finance Group immediate access to NLG Leasing’s panel of asset finance lenders at wholesale rates. A scalable commission or fee structure is also available which is determined by the broker to reflect the individual’s circumstance.
“We are particularly drawn to [NLG Leasing’s] impressive, custom-built technology platform and their team of specialists who provide a complete back-end support service. Combined, these factors will undoubtedly enhance member confidence and uptake,” said Ayris.
Frank Crombie, director of aggregation services for NLG Leasing, said that moving into equipment and car finance is a “natural extension” of the home loan process.
“There’s a natural opportunity for Specialist Finance Groups’ members to generate additional business by simply asking their clients about their current assets and financial goals to determine if they’ll benefit from asset financing. This advisory approach deepens relationships, provides a competitive advantage and increases revenue.”
Brokers need to be diversified in terms of their income streams and service offerings, Crombie told
Australia Broker. However, a key challenge when branching out is bridging the knowledge gap in areas such as asset finance.
“A common conversation with brokers about the hesitation of diversifying into the asset finance space is that knowledge gap,” he said. “Where do I start? What questions should I ask? What’s required? We can very quickly help bridge that education and knowledge gap with our support services.”
This is because the partnership provides access to a panel of 23 finance specialists, Crombie said, who are experienced at handling a wide range of more complex aspects of asset finance such as what documents to ask for and what processes to follow.
“SFG allowing their brokers to plug into our system really gives that enhanced capability to those brokers and it short circuits that learning curve,” he said.
This was better than sitting there, scratching your head and throwing mud against a wall until something sticks, Crombie added.
He continued pointing out that the platform also offers a scalable commission or fee structure which can be decided by the individual broker.
“Some brokers may say they don’t want any remuneration out of this and set their desired commission to zero. Some of them may nominate $500 or $700. It’s completely up to the broker and how much of that relationship they want to reflect in the commission.”
