CEO shares vision for success
Brokers in all stages of the lending journey can benefit from new skills in the technology space, and FINSTREET’s broker education program helps them do just that.
The fintech operates a platform that brings non-bank options to brokers, along with training and knowledge to grow their awareness so that they can help more customers.
Recently appointed FINSTREET Group CEO Boban Jurisic (pictured above) has big plans for the business, which he said provided brokers with a “gateway into non-bank lenders in Australia”.
Jurisic, whose experience includes roles with Yellow Brick Road, Rate Money, and Pepper Money, said that the company was not only committed to building its own future, but also to helping broker growth.
“We upskill and train our people in the hope that they will one day become franchisees and want to grow with the brand,” Jurisic said.
FINSTREET’s ”broker bootcamp” program is a bilingual coaching program that provides three different levels of training for brokers, he said. It can be accessed by any broker and is free of charge.
“For new-to-industry brokers, coaching includes how to sell, how to frame suggestions and position recommendations to clients,” Jurisic said.
New FINSERV Platform system helps brokers to identify solutions
In tandem with broker bootcamp, he said that its customer relationship management, which is driven by artificial intelligence, supports brokers who are less tech-savvy, enabling them to identify non-bank solutions for their clients.
The key benefits of the platform to brokers are increased conversion rates and speed to market, Jurisic said.
The FINSERV platform, which operates as a “four way” system for partners, referrers, clients and investors, is now up and running for internal partners only, with updates scheduled every two weeks with the view to building a gateway to non-banks in Australia. Boban said it remained on track to delivering a full-scale platform by the end of August.
Describing the platform as an “ever-evolving model that keeps learning”, Jurisic said that it supported all forms of non-bank lending, including residential and commercial.
“It’s all the way from scenario to settlement and commission payments,” Jurisic said.
He said the system helped brokers by pulling all the data in for them, supporting them with faster decision-making.
“It has a credit engine which will feed into the non-banks … what that will do is pull down rates, product updates and policy changes,” Jurisic said. “We’ve made the process seamless, with less than 24-hour SLA from application to assessment.”
Creation of ‘ecosystem’ supports future business growth
Describing the various parts of FINSTREET’s operations, Jurisic said that the company operated a licensee model, where branded offices work with various non-bank lenders, providing residential and commercial lending.
“We cater for basically everything from a non-bank point of view, from PAYG loans (investor and owner-occupier), low-doc lending, through to large-scale commercial and also construction loans,” Jurisic said.
FINSTREET’s mobile model allows people to work from home whilst still working under the FINSTREET brand, he said.
Thirdly, the fintech operates an introducer model, where introducer partners can refer loans to the Key and Mobile partners, enabling them to use FINSTREET’s platform to gain access to non-banks in Australia.
The business also operates its own funding line, FINSTAR Capital, an investment fund comprising around $450 million of capital provided by FINSTREET, along with funding from investors.
FINSTAR Capital provides funds for a range of large-scale projects, from start-ups to commercial and business projects, Jurisic said.
Jurisic, along with four directors who sit on the credit committee, are responsible for lending decisions. If the LVR is there, the risk appetite is there and the product is right, FINSTAR Capital will fund it, Jurisic said.
“There’s a number of large-scale projects in the vicinity of $200m that we’re funding at the moment through joint ventures with selected developers around the country and abroad,” he said.
The business is currently bolstering its team with several senior executives, middle-management, sales, and credit roles, is actively involved in roadshows and has a distribution plan in place.
