Resimac CEO Scott McWilliam has spoken to Australian Broker about the vital relationship between the non-bank sector and the broker channel, describing the two as ‘complementary’ in driving business towards each other.
McWilliam was reflecting on the superb growth seen at Resimac in the last financial year, with an 87% rise in profits announced to the ASX earlier in the week.
“We’re extremely pleased with the results that we were able to produce during what has been an unusual and challenging period,’ he said. “We remain in uncertain times, as I sit here today with half of the population in lockdown.”
“Clearly, what we have been able to demonstrate is our ability to grow out book at a multiple to system, which means that our brand, our products and our service proposition are resonating very well with the broker community. We look to leverage off that and continue to improve that process.”
“It’s very important for us to keep producing products that brokers want to deal with. They are the largest origination market, 60% of the home loan market in Australia, and for us at Resimac, we started in the broker market and we’re a broker-centric organisation.”
“The broker channel is very, very important. We’ve built this business around servicing broker, understanding and listening to them and providing what we believe is a superior service proposition to them. Our attitude and promise to that remains unchanged.”
The non-bank sector is exploding at the moment, and largely on the back of brokers and their willingness to look outside the traditional lending models.
“It’s brokers, but it’s also customers,” explained McWilliam. “Consumers today are more comfortable dealing with alternative brands, brands that they didn’t necessarily grow up with. As those alternative providers, with Resimac being one of them, continue to provide a strong service, that desire will continue to grow.”
“Our brokers are a really important part of helping us get that message out there, informing customers that there are strong alternative partners in the Australian market. Customers are now wanting to know who they are and are willing to jump ship in an effort to get to a brand that they can resonate with more than with a traditional bank.”
“We have a strong broker sector in the Australian market, and they are providing a strong, valuable service to customers, which gives them access to a wider group (of lenders) that then enables those non-bank brands to be successful in the market.”
“It’s a positive relationship: the broker sector is very supportive of the non-bank sector, and we enable brokers to put alternative products in front of their customers to improve their own brand.”
“In the same way, it’s the non-bank sector, and the maturity of it in Australia, that is also supporting the growth of the broker sector. It’s a complementary and healthy relationship between the two sectors.”
“At the end of the day, the broker sector represents more than 50% of home loans in Australia and has done for quite some time.”
“So you can clearly see that the sector is valued by consumers, because they’re helping them to navigate through what is quite a complicated process, with 50 different brands in the market, and they’re the ones giving borrowers access to that choice.”
“Who the best provider is for one customer can be very different to who the best is for the next customer that a broker sees. That’s something that borrowers see the value in: both the advice piece and that choice piece. The non-bank sector is able to help brokers with that messaging by providing alternative products.”
