Push to grow mortgage sector
Centuria Bass Credit has appointed Tom O’Donnell as executive director – private capital.
O’Donnell (pictured above, left) will work with Centuria Bass Credit’s executive team in the real estate non-bank lender and investment manager’s Sydney office.
O’Donnell has 25 years’ experience as a financier with significant experience across wealth management and distribution markets and will support Centuria Bass’s distribution and investor relations strategy across the business.
Broker market focus for O’Donnell
O’Donnell said Centuria Bass Credit is currently talking to some other lines of funding “to make sure that we can then bring the most competitive proposition to the broker market”.
“If I’m a broker, I need to feel that the groups I’m working with can bring the most competitive product to the end user, i.e. the client,” O’Donnell said.
When it comes to the overall national market share of the amount of business mortgage brokers are writing, O’Donnell estimates Centuria Bass Credit’s share would currently only be in single digits.
“We’re pretty hungry to grow, that runs through the whole business,” O’Donnell said.
“So, if we can’t double that [market share figure] in 2024, then I think we’ll all look back and think that was disappointing.
“We’re really coming at it from a national approach.”
O’Donnell said his initial focus will be on growing the broker sectors in Sydney and Brisbane as they are the areas where he has the most connections.
O’Donnell has proven track record
Centuria Bass Credit’s Nick Goh (pictured above right), who is joint CEO with Giles Borten, said he was excited to welcome someone with O’Donnell’s calibre of experience.
“His proven track record and strategic insights align seamlessly with our company’s vision, and we are looking forward to his contribution to our company’s success,” Goh said.
Filling gap in middle market private lending
“The philosophy of Centuria Bass has been to deliver institutional grade expertise in investment management where it had been lacking in middle market private lending.
“For over seven-and-a-half years, we have delivered compelling returns on secured private credit loans averaging over 11.8% p.a. return with no losses of principal or interest to investors on any of our 120-plus investments.”
O’Donnell’s recently held positions include: Pallas Capital, partner - distribution; ANZ, private wealth director NSW/ACT; and Credit Suisse’s Private Bank Australia as vice president – head of business development.
O’Donnell also served as chief executive officer at TOD Advisory and sat on the board at the Australian National Maritime Museum Foundation, the Australian Youth Trust, and Taronga Conservation Society Australia.
MPA recently held a non-banks roundtable to discusses challenges and opportunities and found most are working hard at strengthening their partnerships with brokers, who they rely on for most, if not all, of their lending pipeline.
According to the latest MFAA data released at the end of 2023, the proportion of broker-originated home loans settled with the major banks and white-label lenders dropped in the last quarter when compared to the last three months of 2022.
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