86 400 joins Choice lender panel

By joining Choice’s lender panel, its 1,400 brokers will be able to access 86 400’s digital home loan.

According to the neobank, the partnership means that around 75 per cent of the Australian broker community can now offer their customers their digital mortgage product.  

Speaking of the agreement, Robert Bell, CEO of 86 400, said: “Our lending products are experiencing incredible growth, with currently over $550 million in home loans settled or awaiting settlement.

“Partnering with Choice, one of Australia’s largest and most respected finance broking operations, will help extend our reach even further, bringing our award-winning digital home loans to even more Australians.”  

Stephen Moore, CEO of Choice, added: “86 400 delivers fantastic innovative home loans to help Australians purchase and refinance properties.

“We continue to seek out diversity in our lending panel, including digital lending options, as we continue to drive growth within our broker network. We look forward to working with the team at 86 400 and providing our members and their customers with access to its award-winning digital home loans.”

86 400 launched its home loan offering with the Own home loan in November 2019 exclusively via the broker channel, providing the third-party channel with one of the first digital home loans for brokers.

It launched a second offering, the Neat home loan product, last year.

George Srbinovski, the lender’s national manager, broker distribution, commented: “Brokers and customers are always surprised by the ease and speed of the digital process we’ve created.

“We’re not only revolutionising the application process for customers, but also directly addressing some of the biggest pain points for brokers, such as the paperwork needed to submit a deal and speed to decision.”

The move comes as 86 400 prepares to join National Australia Bank (NAB).

On Wednesday (19 May), NAB’s scheme of arrangement to acquire 100 per cent of the share capital of 86 400 Holdings Ltd, the holding company of digital bank 86 400, will be implemented.

While the major bank already has an 18 per cent shareholding in 86 400, it announced in January its plan to acquire 100 per cent of the two-year-old 86 400 for $220 million.

The federal court approved the deal last week and implementation is expected to occur tomorrow (19 May 2021).

While the eventual plan is for 86 400 to subsume under NAB’s digital subsidiary, UBank, NAB has said that 86 400 and UBank will continue to operate as separate businesses in the short term with no immediate changes expected for customers of either business.

[Related: Federal Court approves NAB-86 400 deal]