Relationships, products and service drive Brokers on Non-Banks win
When a non-bank relies entirely on mortgage brokers as a source of its loans, the strength of that lender’s relationship with the third party channel needs to be rock solid.
This is certainly the case with Bluestone Home Loans. Its tireless and focused efforts to grow its team, enhance its product range and online platform, improve credit policies, speed up turnaround times and support and educate brokers have paid off, with Bluestone being named the overall winner of MPA’s 2024 Brokers on Non-Banks survey.
It’s been a rapid rise in the Brokers on Non-Banks’ rankings for Bluestone, which jumped from sixth position in 2022 to third last year and now the No.1 spot.
Bluestone chief commercial officer Tony MacRae says it’s an honour to top the rankings, and it reflects the work the team has put into making relationships, service and products a priority.
“Our products are designed to help brokers grow their business by providing solutions for the customers that other lenders either don’t cater for or, if they do, they make applications complicated,” says MacRae.
“Over the past 12 months we’ve brought in new leadership and expanded our team, lifting our presence in the market. Supporting our BDM-to-broker relationship is also a team of subject matter experts and comms professionals delivering educational programs that provide real value to the broker.”
MacRae says collaborative efforts across the entire Bluestone business have helped deliver a number of policy improvements. “This has resulted in us becoming easier to deal with, something that we’ll continue to focus on.”
In the Brokers on Non-Banks survey, brokers are asked to rank non-banks across 10 categories – turnaround times; BDM support; commission structure; communications, training and development; interest rates; product range; credit policy; online platform and services; brand recognition; and product diversification.
Bluestone achieved the number one ranking in five of these categories: turnaround times; BDM support; communications, training and development; credit policy; and online platform and services.
The lender also took second place for commission structure and product range and came in at No. 3 for product diversification. This means that out of the 33 medals (gold, silver and bronze) available, Bluestone won nine – an impressive 27% of all rankings.
Turnaround times
MacRae says time is everything for the broker and borrower. “We understand that. We eliminated unnecessary documentation and simplified processes, making it easier to submit applications,” he says. “We have more than halved turnaround times.”
BDM support
“We ramped up our broker support, introducing state-based leadership with a focus on building relationships and growing the ‘on the ground’ team by 30%,” says MacRae.
Communications, training and development
Collaborating with the marketing and communications team, Bluestone established a regular cadence that ensured “we had simple, clear and regular messages for our broker network”. “We also ensure that we have open communication between our BDMs and our entire broker network.”
MacRae says market-leading education is important. “We’ve been working with subject matter experts to deliver webinars and workshops such as SMSF and solution-based lending. BDMs also play a critical role in delivering grassroots support and local training and visits for brokers.”
Credit policy
Bluestone introduced over 40 policy changes that have allowed it to provide solutions for more customers, says MacRae.
Online platform and services
“We launched a new website that made it easier for brokers to navigate and help their customers with solution-based lending,” says MacRae. “Delivering on providing the best service to brokers and their customers has been the team focus in the last 12 months.”
Alt-doc loans, specialist lending
Bluestone’s alt-doc product was named among the three top non-bank products for the last 12 months. Bluestone was voted the preferred non-bank for alt-doc lending.
As a product offering, alt-doc enables Bluestone to provide brokers with a solution for borrowers who have varied or non-standard forms of income, MacRae says. “Banks often can’t or won’t lend to these customers … or just make it tough for them with too many hoops to jump through.
“Our mantra has been to simplify. Our alt-doc offering has benefited particularly with this focus, seeing simplification in verification for accountants’ letters, the number of documents required for income verification, and turnaround times.”
MacRae says every incremental improvement contributes to a better experience for brokers and borrowers, which of course results in really positive feedback.
Brokers also ranked Bluestone as the preferred non-bank for specialist lending.
“We believe that life or financial circumstances shouldn’t necessarily get in the way of a good borrower’s ability to access credit and achieve their property goals,” says MacRae.
“We consider the individual’s circumstances, taking a forward-looking approach to provide responsible and accessible solutions for customers that may have had a financial hiccup.”
MacRae says it’s critical that BDM and credit teams work closely with the broker to thoroughly understand each case. “Without specialist lending these customers would be shut out of the borrowing market. With this in mind, it’s critical that our BDM and credit teams are focused on working with the broker to find the pathway to yes.”
Competitive market
There’s no doubt that Bluestone is operating in a highly competitive market. MFAA data for the June quarter shows mortgage brokers wrote 73.7% of all new home loans.
For Bluestone, the broker channel is vital – 100% of its loans are broker introduced. “Brokers are why we exist, and so this relationship is very important; it needs to be nurtured,” says MacRae. “We’ve spent the last 12 months listening to brokers, optimising the experience with us and enhancing the lender-broker relationship, increasingly setting ourselves [up] as the preferred broker partner.”
Bluestone has been around for quite some time, but you can’t stand still, MacRae says. “We’ve got some exciting plans for the future, including digitising the application process with a goal to deliver an immediate decision on many occasions.”
By leveraging tech and data, the lender is well on its way to implementing new platforms and interfaces to provide a better experience and service for brokers and their clients.
MacRae says people must not forget that purchasing a home is, in most cases, the largest financial transaction any of us will ever make. “Borrowers need and want support through the often-stressful process. Tech can facilitate the speed and ease of a transaction, but we are still a relationship business, and understanding borrowers’ needs and being able to find suitable solutions for them is equally important – this is where we’ll continue to focus.”
Expanding its product range is a key focus for Bluestone in 2025, says MacRae. This will enable the non-bank to provide solutions for more customers, cementing its relationship with brokers as a preferred partner.
