Non-bank boss says consistency – and listening to brokers – is the key to his company's success
Pepper Money took the top spot in MPA’s 2021 Brokers on Non-Banks survey – an achievement CEO Mario Rehayem puts down to consistency, even in the face of challenging conditions.
As the housing market boomed, Pepper Money saw a 90% increase in submissions in the first half of 2021 compared to the previous year. Even so, the company maintained its consistent same-day turnaround times.
“There isn’t a lender in the country that isn’t focused on turnaround times,” Rehayem told MPA. “I think where Pepper Money differentiates from everyone going hard on turnaround times can give you a fast decision, but the consistency in their decisioning is key. Consistency and transparency in credit decisioning is more important than just a fast turnaround time, because turnaround times with continually moving goalposts on your credit appetite means a broker then loses confidence, not knowing how that loan is going to end up.”
Rehayem also said Pepper Money made sure to listen to brokers’ feedback – especially important after dropping down to third place in the survey in 2020 after two straight years in the number-one spot, a situation Rehayem said was “a wake-up call.”
“We’ve listened, and [brokers] know we have listened, because they can see how we’ve evolved over time,” he said. “They’ve assisted us in building Pepper Money.”
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Rehayem said that listening to that feedback helped Pepper Money reclaim the top spot in 2021 – a “huge win” and a validation that the lender is doing right by brokers, he said.
Rehayem said that Pepper Money is using digital tools to further automate its process in order to speed up turnaround times even further and create a seamless approach between the customer, broker and lender.
“We believe that Pepper Money will be at the forefront of giving our unconditional and conditional approvals in a matter of hours as opposed to 24 hours,” he said. “This is where we want to take the journey of technology and deliver that service to brokers and their customers.”
