A leading non-bank lender has reported a 12% increase in profit before tax of $94.1m, a strong result the group has tied to the continued growth in its loan portfolio.
Liberty’s total assets reached $12.7bn in 2019, up from $10.2bn in 2018 and span across residential, commercial, motor and personal loans.
CEO James Boyle said, “In a testing year for the industry, we have continued to back the broker channel, providing stability and support amid the uncertainty that followed the royal commission and the federal election.
“We are listening carefully to the needs of mortgage brokers and customers. The feedback has helped us improve the application experience for brokers and customers and guided the development of new lending solutions.
“As an agile business that is continually innovating to help customers, we recently responded to demand for greater access to small business finance. Building on our leading range of secured lending options for small businesses we now also have a solution that does not require real estate as mortgage security.”
According to Boyle, Liberty is always looking for opportunities to help mortgage brokers diversify and strengthen their business for the future.
“We continue to support MoneyPlace to engage the mortgage broker channel for personal loans. We have seen exceptional business partner take-up of the MoneyPlace product. This not only means customers have better access to finance options, it also strengthens business for brokers,” he said.
Another significant milestone of the last year, Liberty joined the Financial Inclusion Action Plan (FIAP) program, which aims to increase financial wellbeing in the community.
“We help people from all walks of life access credit and have long supported the important goal of improving financial inclusion among Australians. It’s for this reason that we are pleased to join FIAP. It will enable us to contribute in an even more considered and measurable way,” Boyle said.
Looking ahead, Boyle said the coming year would bring both challenges and opportunities.
“We will continue to stand with brokers and support them in delivering a truly valuable service to consumers.”
