A second tier has told brokers it is one of the few credible alternatives to the majors, and that it eventually plans to do upwards of 65% of its business through the third party channel.
Suncorp head of intermediaries Steven Heavey has told Australian Broker that the bank has invested heavily in its back office processes in a drive for more broker business. He said the bank would have to heavily rely on the broker channel for growth, and could eventually see 65% of its business come through its third-party network.
"With Suncorp and the journey we've been on in terms of our back office, if you looked three or four years ago and said are we an organisation that can deal with scale, the answer probably would have been no. With the investment we've made, we can deliver on that scale, we can fund it and I thinl we're a credible alternative to the majors," he said.
Heavey claimed that Suncorp was well placed to credibly compete with the majors, arguing that the bank had the scale and funding to do so. He said many brokers were unaware of the scale of the group, which includes insurers GIO and AAMI, and commented that one in three Australians held a Suncorp product.
"We're starting to see some good signs that brokers are starting to talk to their customers about lenders outside the big four. From my perspective, there aren't too many lenders out there who are a credible alternative to the majors, mainly because of funding and scale. I think Suncorp is very well placed to take on that mantle," he said.
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