Bringing financial vitality to regional communities

The importance of brokers to small businesses and homeowners in far-flung corners of Australia

While Australia’s capital cities have seen steady population growth thanks to an influx in immigration, most regional cities and towns have not experienced the same migration boom. At the same time, the economic prosperity of some of these areas has declined as they shift away from mining and manufacturing.

As a result, some regional communities have struggled. Banks have reduced their regional footprints by closing branches to relocate experienced staff to busier centres, leaving local businesses sometimes starved of finance opportunities. In 2017, the big four banks closed at least 38 branches across rural Australia, news.com.au reported in November.

All of these factors make brokers in rural communities more important than ever as the primary source of information and finance solutions for small businesses and homeowners, says John Rolfe, head of Elders Home Loans, which specialises in providing finance to rural and regional Australia.

“Banks are still closing branches, but people need financial assistance, so brokers have a great opportunity to fill that void,” Rolfe says.

With large distances to cover and diverse sectors to understand, a regional broker needs to be a jack of all trades in commercial and residential dealings. They may be called upon to help a local cafe owner buy a new coffee machine, secure a loan for a medical practitioner’s new o ce, or assist a client in purchasing a holiday home, hobby farm or investment policy. Some towns are also heavily reliant on certain industries, so brokers need to have industry-specific knowledge to best serve some clients, Rolfe says.

It wouldn’t be uncommon to see all of this packed into a regional broker’s schedule, on top of teaching fi nancial literacy at a local school and being sought out by the treasurer of the town’s sporting club. Being an active community member is an important part of being a successful regional broker, as the job relies on customer loyalty and word-of-mouth referrals. The business-partner relationships and networks a broker can build with accountants, financial planners, insurance brokers and other referrers are critical to their work, Rolfe says.

Wagga Wagga-based Mainland Finance broker Brad Bland has been with Elders Home Loans for three years and is one such ‘jack of all trades’. Mainland Finance provides services to the agriculture sector, including equipment and commercial finance. He also works on leisure property transactions, which can incorporate 100-acre hobby farms.

Bland has been working in regional Australia for 24 years, but says it’s not a move that would suit everyone. While capital city brokers are likely settling $800,000 home loans, the average home loan in a place like Wagga Wagga is under $300,000. The appeal of working regionally is not about the money but about that sense of community and work-life balance one can achieve, Bland says.

“Banks are still closing branches, but people need financial assistance, so brokers have a great opportunity to fill that void” - John Rolfe, Elders Home Loans

But there are also challenges in being a regional broker. Brokers often deal with clients who are asset-rich but cash-poor. Weather patterns can wreak havoc on growing conditions and cash fl ow, so every season brokers and businesses are dealing with different obstacles. Brokers also need to have a strong understanding of regional issues and the industries their clients serve – as well as a valid driver’s licence. The distances they have to travel to reach clients and get to training days can be a downside.

Bland’s not one to harp on the challenges, however. As a salt-of-the-earth Australian, he says: “You just deal with what you’ve got and get on with it.” It also helps being with a franchise like Elders, he says, because it’s a brand that’s widely recognised and respected by regional Australians, having been in the market since 1839.

Rolfe acknowledges that to help regional brokers thrive one must provide continuous support, training and assistance, especially when most BDMs, lenders and aggregators are city-based. Rolfe tries to see his team a couple of times a year. Elders Home Loans also aggregates under Connective, so its brokers can take advantage of the support provided by Connective’s BDMs and compliance teams.

“The Elders network is a great source of assistance from a support perspective, but training and compliance is a challenge,” Rolfe says. “We utilise a number of training platforms and online tools to best manage it, but the good old telephone is always there, and I take calls from all over Australia seven days a week to assist.”

Just like his brokers, Rolfe is on the ground building connections and community.