Cory Bannister, La Trobe Financial’s chief lending officer, said the non-bank is ideally placed to service market segments that have been left with little credit availability or support at a critical time for the Australian economy.
This, Bannister said, is due to the custom and personalised nature of the lender’s credit assessments, as well as its willingness to take the time to fully understand a borrower’s unique circumstances and provide them with an appropriately tailored solution.
“Automated lending processes have been great for lenders who want to make a square peg fit into a square hole,” Bannister said. “But there are a lot of ‘round peg’ borrowers out there who still need access to capital.”
Unlike other lenders, La Trobe has been largely unaffected by recent volatility in the market. This is due to La Trobe Financial’s unique and diverse funding program – a combination of institutional mandates, an active debt capital market program and Australia’s largest retail credit fund, providing it access to capital.
“There’s no doubt that it’s been a tough year to obtain funding in the markets, but we’ve been thrilled that, because of our funding diversity, we’ve had the resilience to remain in market for our borrowers and broker partners, even during these times of market stress,” Bannister said. “Our investors are particularly attracted to our long track record as an originator of high-quality mortgage loans.”
La Trobe Financial also offers one of the broadest product ranges of any non-bank lender in the market.
“We continue to write loans based on our ability to look at a scenario and provide a solution for a borrower, and our Credit Fund gives us the ability to do so,” Bannister said. “Our goal is to work with our broker partners to provide solutions that meet a borrower’s needs. We do not walk away when the scenario is complex or does not quite fit the box; in fact, this is a space where we excel.”
Another key to La Trobe Financial’s success is its strong broker partnerships.
“For more than 70 years, we’ve been proud of the relationships that we’ve established with our broker partners, which have helped us to lead the market,” Bannister said. “We’re constantly innovating and looking for ways to improve the broker experience, and we’re excited to see some of these new initiatives roll out in 2023.
“The human touch is an important part of the La Trobe Financial experience. So, we’re making sure to grow our teams to meet the increasing demand for our loan products.”
On the technology side, La Trobe Financial’s ongoing improvements will see new releases in its back office change how the non-bank captures data and boosts response times.
“It’s all about creating a system that makes it easier for us to work together with our broker networks,” Bannister said.
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