Milestones
1952
1990
1994
2014
2015
2022
La Trobe Financial is founded in Melbourne with the cornerstone value of “Others before self”
1952
Pioneers first Lite Doc® Credit Mortgage (Alt Doc)
1990
Pioneers first Reverse Mortgage ‘Seniors Loan’
1994
Pioneers Parent 2 Child™ P2C hybrid wealth product
2014
Pioneers Aged Care™ Mortgage
2015
Brookfield settlement
2022
The future is bright at La Trobe Financial
La Trobe Financial sets the benchmark in many ways for non-bank lenders.
As the sector navigates the post-pandemic economy with customary nimbleness and flexibility in the face of change, Australian Broker asked top business development managers in La Trobe Financial’s senior client partnerships team to lift the lid on its sterling reputation for being a problem-solving and solutions powerhouse.
Perhaps the standout feature for the BDMs, both in terms of the attractiveness of La Trobe Financial as a place to work and their goals for the future, is the extremely broad range of products they are able to deploy to market and the power that gives them to make a difference to brokers and their customers.
Henry Ford is reputed to have said that customers for his Model T automobile could have any colour so long as it was black.
Brokers might sometimes feel like Model T customers when it comes to borrowing options, but not at La Trobe Financial. It’s hard to match the non-bank’s breadth and depth when it comes to loan products, and this is a major strength for its BDMs out in the field.
The sheer range gives them the confidence to help a wider range of clients in a diverse and changing economy.
“Our broad product range covers SMSF; construction and development finance; bridging; rural locations and larger acreage; international borrowers, both expat and NR; as well as aged care loans and a unique Parent to Child loan [P2C®]. Additionally, our specialised commercial products include innovative solutions such as the self-employed Lite Doc®, catering for borrowers unable to verify their income through traditional means, and our Lease Doc product that uses rental income as commercial security,” says chief investment officer Cory Bannister.
A diversity of funding for its products means the non-bank has the resilience to remain in the market for its borrowers and broker partners, even when the cost of living is soaring, inflation remains stubbornly high and the central bank is on a rate-hiking tear.
“We have a unique and diverse funding program – a combination of institutional mandates, an active debt capital market program and Australia’s largest retail credit fund, which means that we can access capital that’s largely unaffected by market volatility,” Bannister says.
Spotlight
La Trobe Financial is Australia’s leading alternative asset manager and a proven and trusted investment partner for institutional and retail investors with c. A$17 billion in assets under management. Operating Australia’s largest retail credit fund, La Trobe Financial has the most diversified funding program of all non-bank lenders operating in Australia. Since 1952, La Trobe Financial has been driven to help people realise their potential with specialist financing and investment solutions.
Company Profile
4,800
BROKERS
20
Aggregator groups
17
Loan products
$17bn
Assets under management
70
Years since founding
Bio
Spotlight
Milestones
Media
Accolades
Company Profile
Years of experience
25
tenure at current position
3 years
career highlight
Being picked to lead ORDE's distribution team
La Trobe Financial
BDM team profile
Top BDMs at La Trobe Financial have more options in their lending arsenals than most and are highly trained to use them to help brokers and borrowers get ahead
Read on
Cory Bannister,
La Trobe Financial
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Milestones
2011
2012
2015
2016
2019
2021
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2011
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2012
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2015
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2016
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2019
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The future is bright at La Trobe Financial
Spotlight
Karen Adams
President and CEO at Fundserv
Before becoming CEO of Fundserv, Karen Adams held a variety of leadership roles around the world – and she learned that listening and understanding are key to both providing service and developing talent
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The upshot is that La Trobe Financial BDMs are almost never faced with a situation where there isn’t a lending solution available.
“We don’t walk away when the scenario is complex or doesn’t quite fit the box; in fact this is a space where we excel,” Bannister says.
Reece Hinchy, senior manager client relationships in Queensland, credits La Trobe Financial’s offering and flexibility across 17 products covering residential, commercial and development finance for the ongoing growth of origination volume in his state.
“[The broad range] not only allows me to help diversify and grow the businesses of my broker partners but also assists with fostering long-standing personal and business relationships,” he says.
The arsenal of lending options at his disposal makes his job all the more enjoyable because he can satisfy and exceed the expectations that his clients have of him.
Hinchy believes the market would be even better served if more brokers were trained to use the full range of lines on offer. “[I’d like to see] compulsory broker training across the industry that’s tailored to diversification.”
This would cover residential lending, commercial, development, asset finance, personal loans, business lending and more.
“Ultimately this will lay necessary foundations to deliver best-in-class service to clients, better-quality submissions to lenders and an overall cleaner end-to-end origination process.”
It’s an ambitious vision but one that brokers who work with La Trobe Financial could realise more easily than with some other lenders.
“[For] those brokers who are looking to diversify into commercial with us, any broker who has partnered with a major aggregator is automatically accredited to write all of our loan products, which include residential, commercial, SMSF, construction and development, and our credit-skilled BDMs make themselves available to guide brokers through the process if it’s new to them,” Bannister explains.
Non-banks and alternative lenders in general sometimes battle the misconception that they are only used by people with bad credit histories – a characterisation that paints a technicolour industry in monotones.
BDMs at La Trobe Financial are keen to convey a more accurate image of the industry, even as some of them believed this misconception themselves before joining the non-bank.
Penny Wei, a senior manager for client relationships in the Melbourne area, used to work at a boutique brokerage that specifically marketed its service towards individuals with a poor credit history. She worked exclusively on clients with an unstable employment history, or a Centrelink income only, who were unable to meet the typical underwriting guidelines of conventional lenders.
Wei says that before becoming a BDM at La Trobe Financial, for all she knew non-banks were for ‘flawed’ applicants. “It was an eye-opener, and I quickly learned that not only can we assist clients with credit impairments – more importantly we are providing means for clients who actually do not have a bad credit history but simply need an alternative approach for their financing needs.”
This group includes self-employed clients who need finance but don’t yet have adequate financial records available, developers who want to use La Trobe Financial’s no presale requirement for loan amounts under $5m, or those who seek to access a residual stock facility to free up cash flow needs for their next project.
Reece Hinchy, La Trobe Financial
Geoff Murphy, a senior manager client relationships also in Melbourne, agrees on the misconception and the disservice it does to both lender and client.
“In fact, lenders like La Trobe Financial are providing inclusive solutions to Australians every day that need a lender to look at them through a different lens. In reality, very few clients would be classified as credit-impaired – they just have different needs that require a solution-based lender such as La Trobe Financial to get them there,” he says.
Murphy joined La Trobe Financial around six months ago from non-major bank ING and says he is loving helping a wider range of customers. “As a BDM it’s really satisfying to be able to say yes to more scenarios and offer genuine solutions that many legacy lenders simply turn away.”
While Murphy’s new-found ability to help less conventional borrowers only dates back half a year, the reality is that La Trobe Financial has been doing just that for more than half a century.
According to Bannister, the company’s motto of ‘others before self’ “has driven us to pioneer lending solutions for underserved borrowers and ensure we service those borrowers and market segments that have been left with little credit availability or support”.
“Due to the custom and personalised nature of our credit assessments and our willingness to take the time to fully understand a borrower’s unique circumstance, our team, which is one of the largest in the sector, can provide appropriately tailored solutions for those ‘round peg’ borrowers who still need access to capital,” Bannister says.
"We don’t walk away when the scenario is complex or doesn’t quite fit the box; in fact this is a space where we excel”
“[The broad product range] not only allows me to help diversify and grow the businesses of my broker partners but also assists with fostering long-standing personal and business relationships”
"We don’t walk away when the scenario is complex or doesn’t quite fit the box; in fact this is a space where we excel”
1999
2003
2007
2015
2020
2021
Joins NAB as executive broker distribution
2021
Becomes head of private wealth north at Westpac
2020
Appointed head of asset finance at CBA
2015
Named captain of the Waratahs
2007
Named vice-captain of Australia's Rugby World Cup team
2003
Waugh debuts as a professional rugby player with the Waratahs; makes Test debut with the Wallabies
1999
Milestones
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Geoff Murphy
Senior manager, client partnerships
Reece Hinchy
Senior manager, client partnerships
Penny Wei
Senior manager, client partnerships
More
Find out more
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La Trobe Financial head of distribution Michelle Bannister shares her career journey, hoping to inspire more women to join the finance industry
Find out more
A plethora of product options
Penny Wei
Senior manager,
client partnerships
“The day I became a BDM at La Trobe Financial, a goal I had worked towards for three years”
Career HIGHLIGHT
Reece Hinchy
Senior manager,
client partnerships
“Winning BDM of the Year at the 2019 MFAA Excellence Awards and 2019 Better Business Awards”
Career HIGHLIGHT
Geoff Murphy
Senior manager,
client partnerships
“Working very closely with a broker to submit their first-ever commercial application”
Career HIGHLIGHT
The BDMs
Dispelling the poor-credit-history customer image
“We are providing means for clients who actually don’t have a bad credit history but simply need an alternative approach for their financing needs”
Penny Wei,
La Trobe Financial
A team culture
BDMs at La Trobe Financial make an effort to support each other in a strong team culture fostered by senior management. One example is how the company supports work-life balance for its employees at different stages of their careers.
Hinchy balances time on the road, servicing brokers’ needs, and communicating with clients and the La Trobe Financial credit team alongside caring for young twins.
“It’s tough and a delicate juggling act, but I have an amazing wife and colleagues that support me and allow the perfect balance between work and fatherhood. Coffee also helps,” he says.
Everybody being on the same page in terms of goals is another factor that empowers the BDMs at La Trobe Financial to serve the market better.
“Everyone shares a common goal and vision for the work we do together,” Wei says. “We complement each other’s skill sets, trust and respect each other, and support and encourage each other through growth and learning.”
The economic situation has changed quickly over the last 12 months, and for the BDMs the future is a shifting game that requires constant recalibration.
Over the short term, higher rates and the cost of living dominate their outlook. While these factors create uncertainty in the market, they also provide an opportunity for non-banks and their broker partners.
“More and more Australians need a lender that can provide common-sense solutions. With increasing interest rates, cost of living pressures, and with traditional banks pulling back on certain types of lending, I see the non-bank space only growing from strength to strength,” Murphy says.
Looking ahead
“With increasing interest rates, cost of living pressures, and with traditional banks pulling back on certain types of lending, I see the non-bank space only growing from strength to strength”
Geoff Murphy,
La Trobe Financial
The sector has considerable growth potential, with non-bank lending currently comprising only 5% of all housing lending and 8% of all business lending in Australia, according to the Reserve Bank of Australia’s latest Financial Stability Review. But the word is slowly spreading as lending options dwindle at traditional outlets.
Longer term, there is no doubt an exciting future lies in store for the BDMs. Technology will certainly play a key role in how La Trobe Financial evolves to meet market demands, with AI likely to profoundly affect both the customer and lender side of the business.
A recent report from Accenture showed that generative AI will transform work across many industries, but of the 20 industries included the highest potential for change was in banking.
“Consumers will be able to explain their situation in detail, and AI will be able to provide a quick and comprehensive solution. In turn, banks and lenders will be able to utilise AI for complex credit decisions quickly and efficiently. While this may be seen as a challenge, I think it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Murphy says.
Wei points to the pull-back of traditional banks as evidence that the non-bank sector will thrive. “Changes in regulations and increasing difficulties for conventional lending in certain segments of the market will open up more opportunities for non-bank lenders to fill in the gap with our specialised wide product offering,” she says.
Hinchy is looking forward to the economic boost in the lead-up to the 2032 Brisbane Olympics. “I have a very positive outlook on the market,” he says.
With La Trobe Financial’s broad range of products and experienced BDM team, that future is well covered regardless of which direction the economic winds are blowing – and brokers can be confident they will never have to settle for black.
Published 24 Jul 2023
2021
Non-banks and alternative lenders in general sometimes battle the misconception that they are only used by people with bad credit histories – a characterisation that paints a technicolour industry in monotones.
BDMs at La Trobe Financial are keen to convey a more accurate image of the industry, even as some of them believed this misconception themselves before joining the non-bank.
Penny Wei, a senior manager for client relationships in the Melbourne area, used to work at a boutique brokerage that specifically marketed its service towards individuals with a poor credit history. She worked exclusively on clients with an unstable employment history, or a Centrelink income only, who were unable to meet the typical underwriting guidelines of conventional lenders.
Wei says that before becoming a BDM at La Trobe Financial, for all she knew non-banks were for ‘flawed’ applicants. “It was an eye-opener, and I quickly learned that not only can we assist clients with credit impairments – more importantly we are providing means for clients who actually do not have a bad credit history but simply need an alternative approach for their financing needs.”
This group includes self-employed clients who need finance but don’t yet have adequate financial records available, developers who want to use La Trobe Financial’s no presale requirement for loan amounts under $5m, or those who seek to access a residual stock facility to free up cash flow needs for their next project.