COG Aggregation's strong H1 results reflect continuing appetite for and resilience of asset finance
COG Financial Services has delivered a strong result for the first half of 2023, with asset finance continuing to be a star performer, despite local and global challenges.
COG Aggregation delivered a net asset finance growth rate of 9%, with $3.4 billion of net assets financed in H1 2023 – that’s a 23% growth on a like-for-like basis.
Mark Rayson (pictured above left), head of COG Aggregation, said the H1 FY2023 results reinforce the continuing appetite for asset finance and the resilience of the sector despite supply chain and economic challenges.
“Our network of brokers outperformed the most recent quarterly CAPEX data from ABS, which showed a 3.4% increase in equipment, plant, and machinery capital expenditure, compared with the previous corresponding period,” Rayson said.
Platform Finance, COG’s dedicated strategic partnerships division that solely assists mortgage brokers with their asset finance needs, posted a 14% volume growth for the half.
“We anticipate this trend to continue as our broker base look to further diversify outside their core mortgage business,” said Damian Mantini (pictured above right), head of strategic partnerships. “We continue to leverage our strong and significant broker market share in asset finance and are proud to have an estimated 21% market share of broker originated asset finance lending.”
Enquiry remains solid, despite cost-of-living pressures and surging interest rates starting to impact the consumer lending side of the business.
“It’s certainly becoming more challenging when you look at conversion rates and margins. However, the enquiry is still there; consumer volumes in the December quarter were 30% higher than the prior quarter,” Rayson said. “Commercial lending has been particularly buoyant during the first half, which backs up APRA’s recent lending data that showed double-digit growth in business credit in 2022, albeit trending down from the peak in recent months.”
COG said that in line with its growth strategy and in a bid to continue to meet customer demand, the company continues to invest in people and technology including:
- increasing its relationship and support staff, as part of the merger to create COG Aggregation
- more behind-the-scenes operations and compliance resources to support both brokers and funders
- creating an in-house IT development team
“We recognise that technology is the solution to helping navigate the increasing complexity that brokers are dealing with, which is why it’s crucial to be at the forefront,” Rayson said.
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