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The head of third party distribution at one of Australia's leading banks has made the switch to the fintech sector.
After 18 years at ING Mark Woolnough has started his new role at peer-to-peer lender RateSetter saying he's "very excited".
The appointment is a major win for the fintech and is hoped to accelerate their growing presence in the broker channel.
Woolnough joins RateSetter as head of third party distribution, following his successful 18-year career at ING Australia, where he held key distribution roles across the business, including oversight of the bank’s direct and broker channels.
Woolnough said the move from ING was not a difficult decision, saying he knew "the time had come".
He added, "I saw the opportunity at RateSetter as being able to learn, innovate and develop myself. You get out of your comfort zone and you're more responsive to learn more things. I want to do that and continue to support brokers.
"I spent close to 30 years working in traditional retail banks and the opportunity for RateSetter was probably threefold.
"One, I really liked their vision and purpose to help their customers do better financially. The customer is at the forefront of everything RateSetter is about and you can really see it and feel it.
"Secondly, as was the case with ING, I love working in an environment which is all about doing things different and better for the customers. And challenging the status quo.
"The third one was that RateSetter continues to establish themselves in the broker community and I have been in the broker business for all of the 18 years I was with ING. I loved the industry and working with brokers at all levels.
"The last few years of my time at ING has been heavily involved in regulatory conversations. I'm very aware of the challenges that the industry has been working through and working through very well. I realised even more that it's important that brokers have a wider range and broad offering of products and services."
RateSetter hopes the appointment will supercharge its fast growing presence in the broker channel, helping more brokers offer its award-winning personal, automotive and green loan products.
RateSetter Australia CEO, Daniel Foggo, said, “We’re delighted to make such a high-calibre appointment to our leadership team. Mark brings deep experience in Australia’s financial service sector with a proven capacity to shape strategy and guide the growth of distribution channels. His contribution will be critical as we deliver the benefits of P2P lending to Australian consumers through our broker partners.”
The appointment reflects RateSetter’s growing presence in the broker channel, with today’s announcement following several other significant aggregator and broker group partnerships signed over the past 12 months, including with Connective, Finsure and Loankit.
RateSetter expects to announce additional partnerships over coming weeks.
Foggo said, “It’s our mission to give all creditworthy Australian borrowers a better value alternative to traditional lenders, and partnerships with leading brokers are an incredibly important part of how we’re going to accomplish this.
“By offering brokers highly competitive rates, a simple, flexible product and excellent support, we will give borrowers a better deal, while helping brokers grow their businesses. Mark’s appointment, along with continued investment in our business development and support teams, will ensure we continue to deliver amazing service and value to our broker partners.”
