Finance and Coffee: Friday Wrap

In today's episode, we had the privilege of sitting down with the CEO of the Mortgage & Finance Association of Australia (MFAA), Anja Pannek. With her unique insights, Anja shared her observations on the industry and the association since taking the seat as CEO nine months ago. We began by discussing the transformative power of Anja's role as CEO and the valuable observations she has m...

In this interview, we catch up with Mandeep Sodhi, CEO of Effi, to learn about their recent developments since our last conversation 12 months ago. During this time, Effi has achieved SOC 2 certification, which means that more aggregators should, in theory, accept them as part of their ecosystem for brokers to utilize. SOC 2 places greater emphasis on how security principles are implemented to add...

In this interview, we speak with Anny Le Wilson, the Chief Revenue Officer of Joust, to discuss the topic of digital leads. We begin the conversation by exploring what Joust has brought to the market over the past two years. Unfortunately, their offerings were often misunderstood by the market, with the focus primarily on their cheapest option rather than their superior "exclusive Leads"...

In our recent podcast episode, we had the pleasure of speaking with Ryan Gair, the CEO of Rate Money, about the market performance in the first half of the year. Despite facing some significant challenges, Rate Money has not only managed to weather the storm but also expand its franchise operations. Which highlights that there are opportunities if you look at it. Not only is the Fixed Rates produc...

In case you didnt know, the 2021 Tokyo Olympics are on. So it is timely we speak to someone who has been there and done that. They train very hard to be at the top of their chosen sport to represent their country at the ultimate sporting event. The level of discipline and determination is quiet frankly out of this world. Do these skills translate well after their days as an Olympian have past? Thi...

In this Podcast we chat to Victoria Coster (CEO Credit Fix Solutions) about what trends she has seen, given lockdown meant a lot of people have lost their jobs/unable to work. All of this affected their debt repayment obligations and hence their credit reports. However before we get into that, we start the conversation talking as working parents and about the complexities of WFH. Dealing with chil...

The word "innovation" is thrown about in media releases by a multitude of businesses including banks. But just how much innovation have you really seen? Since Gateway Bank was founded in 1955 with just one employee and a briefcase, they’ve always been pushing themselves to do business in the right way by being innovative. Today, we’ve got Zeb Drummond and Arun Gupta from Gateway to clue us in on a...

It's not often we have someone so senior in a multinational Bank give a candid story about their journey in Finance. In this Podcast, we speak to Glenn Gibson (Acting Head of Retail Bank at ING Australia). We find out how he almost didn't have a career in Banking at all because he wanted to go on a school holiday over the Summer with his parents before he started work when he finished high school....

Its not often we have come across someone who was a former credit analyst (assessor) who took a leap of faith to the broker side.  In this Podcast, we chat with Joel Dieu about what prompted his move from SA to VIC - it was for love. Why he eventually came to realise that his career needed a little reset after working for some of the biggest lenders in Asset Finance. His move to become a Brok...

17 years ago Anita Marshall, started her mortgage broking business as a one woman show in her spare bedroom to try and make a better life for her son as a single mum. She was told by an uncle (who was a broker himself at the time) that she was crazy and not to do it. However she was determined and it turned out to be the best decision she ever made.  Starting out in the travel industry and th...

A little chat with Luke Phan, Bluestone's Head of Product. Here at Finance and Coffee we love chatting to folks about their job and it's not very often that we get to sit down with a Head of Product. It’s a pretty cool job title but it’s one Luke Phan gets to live out everyday. Luke’s interest in finance started at a young age when he was helping his parents to run their family business. He was ho...

In this episode, we picked the brains of James Angus, Chief Customer Officer from Bluestone, finding inspiration around the success of this fast-growing lender, just for you. James offers us an inside look at the changes made and the principle in which Bluestone sets their values around to do things that a lender like them has not done before. That brings us to over 30 policy changes in the past y...

Growing up on the family farm (in which his brother now runs) to working for the largest bank in the world (at the time), to running his own Mortgage Management Company. This is one human's journey into finance that you definately want to listen to. In this Podcast, Dien speaks to Murray Cowan about the ups and downs of the industry he has been in for over 30 years.  Starting a Mortgage Manag...

Venturing out on your own is super-scary for many people, but it’s a decision that’s paid off for Czech-born back office solution expert Petra Novakova. We’re chuffed to have Petra in the hot seat to tell us how she built her kick-ass business Koruna Assist from the ground up. Long story short, Petra came from the Czech Republic and has spent her life living in England, Asia and Australia. Having...

How often does someone on the Credit/Risk side make the move to Sales?  The mentality is totally different. Whilst one waits to have a file passed to them to check if all things meet the requirements so as not to "harm" the lender they work for, the other is constantly out there hunting for new business, facing not only rejection but the pressure of sales targets. Dealing with credit and cust...

Where did bankers used to do their own banking? why it was with Gateway Bank! In this Podcast, Dien speaks to Arun Gupter (Manager Third Party Sales) and Zeb Drummond (Head of Customer Operations) about the Bank that has a Big Heart!   Founded in 1955, Gateway Bank is now one of Australia’s leading customer-owned banks. As a mutual bank they put their members/cus...

In this episode, Dien chats with Aaron Milburn - General Manager Mortgages and Commercial Lending for Pepper Money. He is a massive fan of the broking industry and genuinely believes brokers are the people who can get their customers in the best possible place financially in life. Throughout his 18 years in finance services, Aaron has always been seeking every opportunity to learn and combine his...

In this podcast episode, Dien had a fun chat with Ryan Gair, the brilliant mind behind  Rate Money – Australia’s leading financial service provider for the self-employed. Ryan has been in the finance industry for 18 years. On day one, he got out there cold-calling and door-knocking to drive the business. His resilience and willingness to learn led him to where he is today with the success of...

Salestrekker is the name of a CRM platform that all smaller aggregators who don't have their own proprietary software use. A few brokers and large brokerages who are with larger aggregators also use Salestrekker in addition to their aggregator software.  Why is this the case? Ease of use and intuitive UX could be key. But who is behind Salestrekker? and what is the story behind why it came to exis...

In this podcast, Dien Le and James Angus (Bluestone's Chief Customer Officer) have a candid chat about what the non-bank lender is doing to win broker trust by treating them with respect and installing the belief that when they put business via Bluestone, they are given the respect that they deserve by having quick service with great BDM support. Building on that winning formula is also a game pla...

In this Podcast, Dien Le and James Angus ( Bluestone Mortgages Chief Customer Officer) have a candid chat about the anniversary of Bluestone's launch of their Prime Product.  More often than not, Brokers do not associate Prime Lending with Bluestone.  Topics discussed are: How has it been received, what challenges have they had and most importantly, what it means to have Prime offering a...

In this Podcast, Dien Le and James Angus ( Bluestone Mortgages Chief Customer Officer) had a candid chat about the Federal Budget, the easing of Responsible Lending and how that may have an impact on broker business. Also discussed was an insightful look into the operations of how Bluestone worked with brokers in the current market, FY20 results, the impact of COVID-19, and Bluestone’s roadmap for...

SMEs are the engine room of Australia, we hear this time and time again.  SMEs employ around 4.8 million Australians (44 per cent) and are a major GDP contributor (57 percent). Employment growth in small businesses accounted for approximately 60 per cent of total employment growth in the private sector between 2013-2018. The pandemic has had devastating impact on small businesses in Australia...

Many in the Third Party Finance Broker space have heard of HashChing, but not many would know about it's visionary Founder - Mandeep Sodhi. Even Less would know about the cheeky story of how he went behind his parents back to prepare for his journey to Australia.  Having now exited HashChing and starting a new business called Effi (or short for Efficiency) Technologies,  Dien Le intervie...

In Grade 11, Tracy was bored and was seen filling out an application to join the ANZ Bank, with a little help (she later found out) she was successful in landing her first bank role.  Little did she know that her Journey, in and out of Finance, would lead her to being one of the few Women Leaders in Banking. Currently Head of Third Party with Auswide Bank, Dien chats to Tracy in this episode,...