More than 20 members of the third-party channel were chosen as winners at the second annual Mortgage Business Awards.
The second annual Mortgage Business Awards black-tie gala ceremony was held on Thursday night (16 May) at Sofitel on Collins, Melbourne, with support from principal partner Resimac.
Over 350 members of the mortgages industry attended the ceremony to cheer their colleagues and network with industry leaders.
There has never been a better time to reward members of this industry for their successes, with MFAA data revealing that a record 71.8 per cent of all new residential home loans are written by brokers.
At the evening event, a total of 22 leading lights from Australia’s booming residential third-party distribution channel were declared winners of the Mortgage Business Awards 2024, from a pool of 129 finalists.
Australian comedian (and member of The Chaser) Julian Morrow provided entertainment and laughter throughout the evening in his role as emcee.
Winners spanned aggregators, brokerages and brokers, lenders, loan administrators, marketing professionals, technology providers, and individuals and company innovators.
Individual awards
Mortgage brokers operating in metropolitan and regional Australia were championed at this year’s awards.
Mortgage Choice Melbourne owner and partner Cameron Price was named Mortgage Broker of the Year – Metro, while the Mortgage Broker of the Year – Regional award was given to Picker Financial Solutions’ director Justin Picker.
The founder and managing director of new brokerage broker.com.au, Matthew Board, was crowned this year’s New Broker of the Year.
The Innovator of the Year – Broker award went to 10X Home Lending Group principal owner and mortgage broker Michael Wu. Judges were impressed with his well-structured submission that articulated why he would succeed in the long term.
Loan administrators and marketing professionals were also given the nod for consistently supporting brokers and helping them raise their game.
Arch Brokerage client manager Holly O’Loughlin won the Loan Administrator of the Year award, while Trusted Finance CEO Rob (Robbo) Roper emerged as the Marketing Professional of the Year.
Group awards
Aggregators and lenders shared the spotlight at this year’s awards for providing exceptional services and constantly innovating.
Mortgage Choice (helmed by Mortgage Choice and Financial Services CEO at REA Group Anthony Waldron) was named Aggregator of the Year for consistently innovating for its members and their clients.
The Australian Lending & Investment Centre (steered by managing director Damian Brander) was named Brokerage of the Year.
The Major Bank of the Year award conferred upon National Australia Bank (NAB), while the Non-Bank of the Year award went to Liberty.
Bankwest (whose third-party channel is headed by Ian Rakhit, general manager, third-party) won the Non-Major Bank of the Year award (the first of three awards this year), while the Mutual Bank of the Year trophy was given to Great Southern Bank (which has Paul Lewis as its CEO).
Broker Ideas Group, founded by James Veigli, took home the Service Provider of the Year award for achieving exceptional results from its coaching and innovative training options for different types of members.
Innovators occupy centre stage
Recognising the ongoing development to modernise and improve the mortgage process, the Mortgage Business Awards acknowledged aggregators, brokerages and lenders that have been propelling their industry forward through innovation.
Lendi Group - steered by group CEO David Hyman - received the Innovator of the Year – Aggregator award for digitising and streamlining processes for brokers, and its adoption of artificial intelligence tools to help make brokers more efficient.
The Innovator of the Year – Brokerage award was given to Finspo (led by CEO Angus Gilfillan), while the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) won the Innovator of the Year – Major Bank award for continually bringing new innovations to the process and service standards for brokers.
Mortgage manager Rate Money (run by CEO Ryan Gair) clinched the Innovator of the Year – Non-Bank award, with judges hailing its commitment to operational excellence and corresponding growth.
Bankwest took home the Innovator of the Year – Non-Major Bank of the Year award, making it the second award for the lender this year, in recognition of its tools, tech and investment in digitising its offering.
Technology platform providers honoured
Technology providers were praised for providing the latest tools to streamline efficiencies so that brokers could focus on providing optimal services to their clients.
Lender servicing calculator platform Quickli (co-founded by Eric Dill and Angus Keatinge) was awarded the Broker Technology Platform of the Year trophy for achieving strong customer satisfaction and accelerating the broking process.
Bankwest’s hat-trick was completed after it was pronounced the Lender Technology Platform of the Year.
CRM platform providers were also applauded for supporting brokers with client communication and nurturing leads.
LMG (run by executive chairman Sam White) won the Marketing and CRM Platform of the Year – Aggregator/Major Brokerage award for providing outstanding features to help brokers remain ahead of the curve and nurture leads.
Finally, Craig Vaughan’s BrokerEngine took home the Marketing and CRM Platform of the Year – Technology Provider award, in recognition of its sophisticated offering that streamlines broker workflows.
Congratulations to all the winners.
Click here to view the full list of winners.
For more information about the Mortgage Business Awards, click here.
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