Finsure has moved to tighten its risk and governance framework with a new senior appointment, following months of scrutiny over broker conduct.
The national aggregator has named risk specialist Greg Milward as its new risk and compliance manager, a role Finsure described as central to embedding a more proactive, enterprise‑wide approach to managing misconduct risk and rebuilding trust with lenders and its broker network.
The announcement noted that Milward has more than 14 years’ experience working with lenders to manage risk in tightly regulated markets.
Before joining Finsure, Milward was senior manager, risk, business banking at Bank of Queensland and prior to that worked across some of Australia and New Zealand’s largest regulated institutions, including Macquarie Bank, Westpac Banking Corporation, and ASB Bank.
Finsure framed Milward’s arrival as the latest stage in a deliberate effort to upgrade its internal guardrails around risk, compliance, and corporate governance.
Finsure CEO Simon Bednar pointed to several years of investment in the back end of the business and described the new role as the next rung on that ladder.
“Over recent years, Finsure has taken a number of proactive steps to improve our ability to manage and respond to risk, including significant investment in strengthening our compliance and governance frameworks. This is the next logical step in that process,” he said.
Bednar also drew a line between having dispersed risk responsibilities and putting a single leader in charge of setting the tone and tightening policies across the group.
“While obviously we have had teams with responsibility in risk and compliance, our decision to appoint Greg to this role was founded in our ambition to embed a more proactive approach to driving improved policies, managing risk and ensuring compliance across our business so that we can be the partner that our partners can trust, at a time when our entire industry is facing growing threats and growing scrutiny,” Bednar said.
Bednar highlighted Milward’s background across multiple regulated industries and major banks, saying that this provided Finsure the ability to bring lender‑grade discipline into an aggregator setting.
“With experience across highly regulated markets, including financial services, automotive and energy, we are confident Greg will align our internal risk and compliance structures with Australia’s leading lenders while bringing a fresh perspective on how we can drive sustainable improvements in risk maturity and culture, and continue to build our internal capability to respond to and manage risk,” he said.
Milward to build on ‘broker‑first’ culture
Milward is stepping into the role with a brief to reinforce Finsure’s existing culture while bolstering its risk filters.
He pointed to the organisation’s broker‑centric positioning and the work already done to lift “risk maturity” as a base he could build from.
“Finsure has a strong broker-first culture, and the business has made significant investment in lifting its risk maturity in recent years. There is always more to do as the issues we face in this area continue to evolve,” Milward said.
He also made clear that what attracted him was the willingness to treat risk and governance as a leadership‑level issue.
“Finsure is an organisation that takes risk and governance seriously, from the top down. There is a genuine commitment to embed best practices at every level of the business,” he said.
“That’s exactly the kind of environment I want to be part of. I’m looking forward to continuing to embed practical, fit-for-purpose frameworks that protect our broader network while ensuring any bad actors are quickly identified and removed from the system.”
Hai Money dispute sets the backdrop
The appointment comes just months after Finsure’s separation from sub‑aggregator Hai Money.
Earlier this year, Finsure cut ties with Hai Money after lenders raised concerns about compliance breaches, misconduct, and fraud involving some of the sub‑aggregator’s brokers.
Hai Money then challenged the termination in the NSW Supreme Court, saying that Finsure had acted unlawfully and ultimately secured an interim injunction.
The saga heightened scrutiny as to how aggregators oversee third‑party networks and respond when lender alerts escalate into allegations of misconduct.
In May, Finsure and Hai Money jointly confirmed that they had settled the dispute and mutually agreed to end the sub‑aggregation agreement.
[Related: Revealed: Finsure–Hai Money break-up laid bare]
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