Business

How can brokers better aid SMEs in securing finance, especially as it becomes harder to come by?

The ever-evolving lending and property landscape means that Valuer opinions and interpretations of market conditions have become very important. In this Podcast, Andrew Wood interviews Damian Kininmonth to chat about how valuers are navigating the current apartment market and the outlook for apartments.

The 2018 Australian Mortgage Awards was one to remember with the Equity-One team joining over 650 mortgage professionals at Star Sydney to celebrate the winners of the Australian Mortgage Awards.

Equity-One are proud to announce Josh Bartlett of Loan Market Bayside as winner of the Broker of the Year – Productivity award given at the Australian Mortgage Awards.

The finalists for the 2018 Australian Mortgage Awards have been announced today. The awards – supported by event partner Westpac for the tenth consecutive year – defines excellence in the mortgage and finance industry, recognising the achievements of outstanding brokers, brokerages and industry leaders across a range of categories.

Four business and commercial lenders tell Australian Broker about the unique solutions they have pioneered in the market. Meeting the market’s demands, Equity One provides interest-only loans for commercial borrowers, with payment terms of one to two years and the ability to pay back early without penalty. “The real hero of our loans is the fact they provide a solution for commercial borrowers who aren’t being accommodated right now, without them being locked in,” says Equity One managing director Dean Koutsoumidis.

Bringing together industry leaders to celebrate excellence in the mortgage and finance industry, the Equity-One Team look forward to attending the Gala dinner on Friday 19th of October at The Star in Sydney to present “Broker of the Year – Productivity” from a group of deserving Nominees.

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia is tightening up its scrutiny of interest only mortgages by carrying out enhanced screening of applicants.This recent move by the CBA is one of many adjustments to bank lending policy in recent years. Whilst a significant driver of these changes is due to APRA requirements, there has also been a Public Relations factor.

Two leading economists have claimed that APRA’s lending curbs are here to stay and have flagged a strong possibility that more macro-prudential measures will be introduced this year.

This is an interesting article in relation to the ever-evolving P2P (Peer To Peer) lending models which are slowly growing around the globe. Initially, new technology which automates and systemises lending, and in particular connects investors and borrower through such technology, may seem impressive. After all, who doesn’t like a new blue-sky technology story? The basics of sound lending, and investment for that matter, however, always come back into the fore. Regulation of both the investment and borrowing sides of these models must be as rigorous as those applied to “traditional/non-fintech start up” participants. There may be more articles like this in the near future.