Westgarth previously worked at SocietyOne
Bluestone Home Loans has appointed Rob Westgarth (pictured above, left) head of originations in a move designed to further its commitment to the broker channel.
Westgarth was a senior project manager at SocietyOne, and a senior credit risk manager at Investec.
Prior to entering the non-bank sector, Westgarth worked in senior roles at the National Australia Bank, Citibank and with high-end customers at niche lender businesses Medfin and Experien.
“Rob’s deep lending and credit experience speaks for itself, and his reputation is well known nationally amongst brokers,” said Tony MacRae (pictured above, right), chief commercial officer at Bluestone, who joined the lender’s leadership team last year.
“His background with niche and self-employed customers makes him ideal for what we are looking to achieve here at Bluestone, and only strengthens our proposition to the third-party channel.
“When brokers have clients with a non-standard background, they need to know that there is a lender in the market that actively wants to help them in a way that others don’t.
“Rob will be on the coalface every day, helping us to help brokers.”
Linking brokers to lenders for non-standard clients
Westgarth said with over 35 years’ worth of experience in credit and risk, he knows how hard it can be for brokers to find lenders, especially for non-standard clients.
“Brokers that operate in the non-standard / non-conforming sector are looking for a lender that is consistent in their approach and is able to respond to the needs of their customers quickly and efficiently,” Westgarth said.
“At Bluestone, we understand the importance of meeting borrower’s needs, and that customers seeking finance are often disadvantaged by traditional lenders and their narrow approach to lending.”
Bluestone committed to brokers
Westgarth said Bluestone has underlined its commitment to serving this market.
“I couldn’t be happier to put my skills towards that goal,” he said.
The appointment comes after Bluestone lowered its serviceability buffer from 2% to 1.5% for loans with up to 70% LVR on its near prime and prime products.
The buffer reduction, announced late last year, is designed to appeal to non-standard clients, especially those in the self-employed category, who may find it difficult to meet the serviceability requirements of many lenders.
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