Lender Q & A: ANZ's Cosi De Angelis

If a client is in front of you talking about their home loan and you can see they have a business, don’t miss the opportunity then and there to ask about their business finance. How easy is that? The old principle of ‘asking for the business’ has not changed. The commercial aspect does not have to be solved and finalised then and there – finish the home loan process, prove your worth and set up another time to cover the business discussion.

From a process perspective, sometimes commercial applications are as easy as home loan ones, and at other times they can be more complex.

Like any high-performing business, there is some effort in maintaining profitability and growth, and investing some time and effort into building a commercial capability for a broker’s business is no different.

Do brokers need to approach SME clients differently from their residential borrowers?

Yes and no. No, in relation to the key basics of running a successful, customer-centric business: build a strong client relationship, have a deep understanding of the clients’ circumstances and provide ongoing excellent service. Yes, if you have only ever been a home loan broker – you need to confidently present commercial solutions to be considered a strong alternative to other finance options. Brokers must understand the way a business runs and the various stages of business, from start-up to maturity. Along with this are the technical aspects of the credit submission. We don’t expect brokers to do this all themselves; we are here to run this hand-in-hand with them.

How should brokers go about getting involved in financing SMEs? What support does ANZ offer them in this space?

Call ANZ and talk to one of our commercial broker managers who can sit down and assess with you any opportunities in your existing business. You will need to apply for new accreditation with ANZ. The type of accreditation can be tailored to the skill level and diversification appetite of the broker.

We also run a variety of coaching sessions to not only help brokers uncover these opportunities within their client base, but also to develop competency within their business to prepare credit submissions.

Essentially, a broker can transact with us in a way that suits them. We can transact on a simple spot-and-refer model right through to a full broker model, which involves the preparation of the credit submission. For asset finance, we offer an online process whereby we only require a one-page application form to be submitted, and we then assist in financing the remainder of the deal.

Every commercial application is different, and at ANZ, our broker managers and business banking managers are there to help brokers complete them.

You will also find that most aggregators offer commercial training.