Three decades in, La Trobe's head of distribution says broking's growth story is far from over
Ask Michelle Bannister to sum up 30 years in mortgage broking and disbelief springs pretty quickly to mind.
"I don't think anyone could have predicted just how significant the broker channel would become," says Bannister, head of distribution at La Trobe Financial. "Did I predict brokers would reach 81% residential market share? Absolutely not."
Bannister joined La Trobe Financial in 1996 and has since worked across the full lending lifecycle – origination, credit assessment, approval, settlement and distribution – before rising to lead a national sales team of 40 business development managers (BDMs) and oversee the Signature Club and Platinum Partner broker programs.
Now marking her 30th anniversary at one of Australia's largest non-bank lenders, Bannister is candid about just how unrecognisable the industry has become.
"When I joined La Trobe Financial in 1996, it was a very different business and, in many respects, a very different financial services industry," she says. "Thirty years ago, many of our broker relationships were quite literally conducted with one mobile phone and around a desk. Today, we have a national distribution team, digital processes, and a much broader suite of lending solutions. The technology has changed enormously. The market has changed enormously. But the importance of relationships hasn't changed at all."
For Bannister, the single biggest shift has been broking's professionalisation – the industry has moved a long way from simply comparing rates and submitting applications, to a point where "trusted adviser" is now almost synonymous with "mortgage broker".
"Today's broker is a highly skilled financial professional who is expected to understand credit policy, structure transactions, manage increasingly complex customer circumstances and provide ongoing value," says Bannister. And she's clear about where that maturation has come from: "La Trobe Financial has tried to evolve alongside brokers rather than simply asking brokers to evolve around us. That means investing in technology and processes but also maintaining the human element."
Relationships over accolades
Despite a trophy cabinet that includes the Mortgage & Finance Association of Australia (MFAA)'s Excellence Award for Business Development Manager of the Year, several aggregator awards for Best Lender BDM, and repeat inclusion in MPA's Elite Women list, Bannister steers away from the accolades when asked what stands out most.
"If I'm being completely honest, the career highlights aren't the accolades. They're the relationships. It's brokers I've known for decades who I first spoke to when I was working in credit and who I still speak to today.
"There are colleagues I've watched develop from junior roles into senior leaders. It's the difficult deals where we eventually found a way forward for the customer. And there are countless moments where a broker has called simply to say, 'Thanks, you made that happen.' After 30 years, those are the things that mean the most."
La Trobe Financial chief executive officer Chris Andrews points to those same relationships as Bannister's defining legacy. "Few people have contributed more to La Trobe Financial's broker relationships than Michelle Bannister," Andrews says. "For three decades, she has built genuine partnerships based on responsiveness, integrity and a commitment to helping brokers serve their clients."
Evolution of the BDM role
Bannister has overseen La Trobe Financial's national BDM team long enough to watch the very nature of the job change shape.
"Brokers, rightly so, expect their BDM to understand much more than a product suite," she says. "They need to understand credit, property, structuring, serviceability and the nuances of the broker's business. They also need to be comfortable with technology and able to move quickly."
Yet she insists the fundamentals of a great BDM haven't shifted at all – a philosophy built on the principle that a broker should be able to call their BDM and get a straight answer.
For Bannister, reliability beats brilliance every time. "The best BDMs aren't necessarily the people who know every answer immediately. They're the people who say, 'I'll find out,' and then actually do it. That sounds simple, but over 30 years I've learnt that reliability is an incredibly powerful competitive advantage."
What's next for La Trobe Financial and the broking industry
Thirty years in at La Trobe, Bannister reckons the business still feels like it's building rather than settling. As the market continues to become more sophisticated, "there is a huge opportunity for non-bank lenders that can provide genuine choice, certainty and expertise", she says, pointing to banks narrowing their core lending appetite as space for specialised, non-bank solutions continues to open up.
Increasingly, her focus is on the next generation coming through – including via La Trobe Financial's Women of La Trobe leadership group, where she mentors emerging leaders and helps build long-term career pathways across the organisation.
It's a role that Bannister takes seriously because of the opportunities she was given early in her own career. "Some of the greatest opportunities I've had came from leaders who believed in me before I was ready to believe in myself."
As for the broking industry, if the next 30 years are anything like the last 30, there is plenty of change on the horizon. "But I think the fundamentals will remain the same: good people, strong relationships, sound credit and doing the right thing by the broker and the customer."
Bannister's milestone lands as the broker channel's record-breaking run in new home loan settlements continues to reshape distribution economics across the industry – a trend La Trobe Financial, which passed $25 billion in assets under management earlier this year, intends to keep riding.
