Advantedge has seen a major uptick in its white label products as
Brett Halliwell tells Australian Broker it's becoming more critical for aggregators to own distribution.
Halliwell, the company's general manager of distribution, said having a hand in lending is becoming a ticket to play for aggregators.
"We think it's absolutely critical, and we think we have the unique point of differentiation in being owned by a bank. The margins on lending are substantially higher than out of aggregation, and by making money out of lending that enables us to invest some of the income and profits back into the aggregation platforms," he said.
The company's home loan product suite has seen demand rise, with mortgage applications up 48% in February 2013 compared to February 2012. Settlements are up 106% in the same time period. Halliwell said the success may seem sudden, but has been some time in the making.
"When people look at the success we've had this year, a lot of people may think it's overnight success. We've spent five years of absolute hard work trying to get the proposition to where it is, so we've become an overnight success over the course of five years," he said.
Halliwell argued that the company's products had to "earn the right" to garner attention from its brokers, and said it did not influence brokers to choose Advantedge products over other home loans.
"Every time a broker places a deal with us, they choose to do that. We put our best foot forward and hope that they choose us over other lenders on the panel, and we think these products easily tick all the boxes," he said.
