Two online courses will also be available
The Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia will hold a one-day new commercial broker workshop across Australia throughout October as well as rolling out two online learning modules for brokers diversifying into commercial lending.
“Business and commercial lending can protect a business from relying on a single source of revenue, allow brokers to provide new services to existing clients and also build a wider network and gain new clients,” said Melanie Kafka (pictured above), MFAA executive of member experience and partnerships, in a media release.
MFAA’s new commercial broker workshop, suitable for both brokers looking into diversifying into commercial lending and those with up to three years of business and commercial lending experience, will explain terminology specific to the business as well as the commission structures for these types of loans.
The workshop, facilitated by experienced commercial finance brokers David McCleery from MCP Financial Services and Todd O’Neill of Xenium Finance, will also use case studies to educate attendees on how to read business financial statements and what questions to ask to really understand how a client’s business is performing.
The workshops cost $75 for MFAA members and $100 per person for non MFAA-members. It will also feature a lender expo, so mortgage brokers can network with other industry professionals and see what types of products are out there.
Workshop attendees will be able to access the online learning modules free of charge, further expanding the solid foundation from the workshops.
The two online courses, Kafka said, were a “fabulous asset” for workshop attendees as an ongoing resource and reference points to solidify the information discussed, available to them any time and with unlimited access on the MFAA Learning Hub.
The first course, Commercial Ready, details the core principles of business and commercial lending including loan types, what lenders look for in loan applications, and how mortgage brokers can build a referral network for commercial lending. The second one, Financial Statement Fundamentals, delves into financial statements in the context of banking and credit.
“The skills mortgage brokers have in terms of relationship building and listening to what their clients’ goals are and telling their story to lenders, also apply to business and commercial lending,” Kafka said. “These workshops and courses are about leveraging those skills and providing the technical skills specific to commercial lending.
“And the variety in the types of business and commercial lending means brokers starting out don’t need to do it all at once. You can start with car or asset finance for example, and then begin offering other services such as commercial property or invoice financing later on to further diversify your portfolio.”
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