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The major bank has marked its fifth year in the commercial broking market with a raft of business milestones, including record settlements representing year-on-year growth of over 40 per cent.
Established in October 2012, NAB Commercial Broker has grown to represent around one-quarter of the bank’s new business lending flows in just five years, accounting for around 22 per cent of the broader commercial broking market.
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General manager of NAB Commercial Broker Chris Thomas said that the bank is proud to be marking its fifth anniversary with such a strong presence.
Mr Thomas said: “NAB Commercial Broker was created in recognition of the growing trend towards the use of commercial brokers, and these figures clearly demonstrate the success of brokers in catering to Australia’s business community.”
After forming its first aggregator partnership with FAST in 2012, NAB currently has agreements with 20 aggregators, with close to 1,300 brokers having written loans via NAB Commercial Broker since its inception.
Mr Thomas said that this figure continues to grow by 27 per cent year-on-year. The group has also grown its support team to 60 employees, servicing NAB Business Bank and NAB Asset Finance, as well as Small Business, Franchise, Agribusiness, Health, Private and Corporate.
“As Australia’s biggest business bank, our goal is to lead the charge in innovation for small business and commercial lending in the broker channel,” Mr Thomas said.
The NAB general manager said that diversifying into commercial lending offered brokers the opportunity to access more revenue streams and expand their value proposition beyond just residential loans.
“In recent years, the expansion of the small business sector has been a key trend Australia-wide, with growth across all states and territories,” the GM said. “What is clear is that small business is an industry on the move, presenting a range of opportunities for brokers to reach out, help them grow and be successful.”
NAB’s October Monthly Business Survey found that the majority of SMEs are feeling optimistic, with 73 per cent currently feeling successful in their own business. Growth and expansion are firmly on the agenda, with almost half (44 per cent) planning to expand their business in the next three years. This growth mindset ramps up with millennials, with 66 per cent intending to expand.
“Against this backdrop, we are seeing increased demand from broking clients for more diversified services,” Mr Thomas said.
Earlier this year, NAB announced the launch of a new campaign to highlight how brokers can write more loans for small businesses. The campaign, which launched in July, encouraged brokers to ask their customers “How’s Business?” to identify new business opportunities and deepen the broker-customer relationship.
“We are committed to supporting brokers start conversations with their customers around small business lending and helping them to diversify into small business lending,” Mr Thomas said.
Concluding, the GM said: “By responding to more client needs, brokers can save their customers time and deepen their customer relationships. Up to 30 per cent of residential broking customers are also small business owners, so there is a natural synergy between looking after someone’s personal lending needs and extending that into ensuring their business needs are looked after.”
