A specialist lender has said it helped more customers than ever before in the last financial year.
Liberty’s loan originations grew by 15%, which the group puts down to offering alternative solutions for customers.
Chief executive James Boyle said they had been seeing more and more customers who at one point would have been customers of a bank.
During the 2017/2018 financial year, Liberty saw a number of partnerships and acquisitions which it attributes to its success.
“The acquisition of MoneyPlace and the investment in ALI Group, have delivered mortgage brokers an opportunity to offer a broader suite of relevant products through a single relationship,” Boyle said.
The group also acquired National Mortgage Brokers (n MB) which has a network of more than 400 brokers across Australia.
Boyle added, “National Mortgage Brokers sits alongside company-branded Liberty Network Services, which has more than 130 advisers, which makes it easier for customers seeking competitive lending solutions to find Liberty.
“Liberty’s broking partners were essential to the success of our business last year and responsible for delivering $4.9 billion in new loans across home, motor and commercial. This included an increase of 59% for new commercial loans and a 17% increase in new motor vehicle loans.”
Looking to the year ahead Boyle expects the uncertain environment will continue as we expect the final report of the Royal Commission.
But Liberty is well placed to handle such uncertainty, as banks tighten their credit and brokers look to alternative lenders for solutions for their borrowers.
On the Royal Commission he said, “I can’t imagine that he will not consider the impact of any recommendations on the mortgage broking community because it’s so important for managing competition.
“It’s the only place a borrower can go to compare different loan products. We have all seen in the last week the mortgage brokers are responsible for more than half of all loans that have been written. The high level numbers seem to suggest the current arrangements in place seem to work.”
The non-bank is part of the Combined Industry Forum and said it is clear in its support of the broking industry.
To brokers worried about the future he said, “Undeniably community expectation of our services has increased. So it doesn’t matter if you were already doing good things, it’s the right time for us to be reflecting on how we do what we do for customers even better.
“I think other than that we should be confident that there’s a good reason more than half of home loan borrowers in Australia seek out a mortgage broker. The service we provide is really important and really relevant and that’s unlikely to change.”
