Non-bank lender Liberty says brokers have an important role to play in commercial lending, especially with some major banks scaling back their involvement in the sector.
Liberty group sales manager, John Mohnacheff said small business owners shouldn’t be concerned as Liberty remains committed to serving this important part of the community.
He said, “It’s critical that lenders support all forms of business and that is what Liberty is going to continue to do.
“Self-employed workers are the backbone of the Australian economy. These people take significant risks, they’re prepared to give it a go and Liberty firmly believes we need to be there to help them achieve their business goals.
“The big banks don’t have the same personal approach that we can provide, with our team of business development managers supporting the broker industry.
“We have built an entire division dedicated to commercial lending. The BDMs, the underwriters and the settlements team can all help brokers help more clients. We have structured ourselves to help brokers in every way so they can concentrate on finding solutions to help self-employed and business owners reach their next milestone.
Mohnacheff said despite this, brokers often still have a mental barrier when it comes to writing commercial loans.
He added, “If you can do a residential home loan, you can do a commercial loan. You’re not doing it by yourself, we’ve got people that come out and help you.
“Ultimately what brokers do is connect customers with finance solutions. They’re helping the business get the money they need whether through commercial finance or low doc alternatives.
“Many brokers will already have commercial customers in their database too. The greatest asset for any broker is their database. For every 100 home loan customers in your database, a large percentage will be self-employed or business owners.”
