Non-bank lender Pepper Money clinched the “Specialty Lender” title at this year’s Mortgage & Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) State Excellence Awards, held earlier this month in Sydney. The event celebrated top-performing brokers, lenders, aggregators and business development managers across New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. Winners were recognized across 18 categories over the last 12 months.
Australian Broker caught up with Pepper’s Katie McNamara and Tony Wakim – both of whom work as BDMs at the non-bank, and were present on awards night to accept the honor – to get their take on the win and uncover the key drivers behind the lender’s ongoing success.
AB: How do you feel about the event? And winning the "Specialty Lender" award?
TW: We are so proud to be working with such an amazing organization. That's four years in a row we won. Probably, in what I would say is the most competitive industry.
KM: One hundred per cent.
TW: I think what separates us is being us: the BDMs, the support.
KM: There's real transparency and we get it down. I mean, everyone that was nominated was amazing in their own right, but I think we've really seen as a game in the last four months to provide solutions.
TW: And Pepper just always sets the benchmark. It's the credit team; it's the support team. It's the sales team; it's the leadership team. From the top down, bottom up, everyone wants to know us.
AB: Why is it important to have these in-person industry events?
KM: Everyone works so hard. I think the [MFAA] CEO [Anja Pannek] was saying that at the start of the night. Everyone works so hard to help other people. I think that's really selfless. But you also need to kind of come in and celebrate your own achievements in the industry, because it's really important.
TW: It's good to see others as well and celebrate the success of other people that we might not know until we see them. Community awards, and things like that, are really important to what we do, to see how we impact the greater community.
KM: It adds value.
AB: Do you think it's important to network?
KM: One hundred per cent. Because we're all friends here. Every person that was nominated with us, we're friends with. We're all playing in the same pool. But we also all support each other. We celebrate all of our work together.
AB: You don't feel a rivalry between other firms? Other BDMs?
KM: There's always a rivalry. But it's always healthy; it's always fun. It's never like, oh, we don't like you. It's always like, we're all in this together.
TW: We help each other. We spend so much time in business with all our peers. We don't see them so much as competitors as peers.
AB: What are the secrets to your success? What is Pepper doing that others are not doing?
TW: Trusting its people, trusting its process, and having people's best interest at heart. You can't go wrong with that.
AB: Do you have any tips or tricks for others, other BDMs who want to be winners next year?
KM: Be transparent, be available – kind of always.
TW: Be yourself. You can't fake it in this industry.
AB: How has Pepper helped you both grow and develop in your careers?
KM: Both of us are part of two of the biggest aggregator groups in the country. And I think having that network, and being able to help, have a lot of focus and provide a larger network of assistance, has really helped us. Plus, we've got all the support that we need. All the guys in our executive team, our leadership team, have been with Pepper for a very long time. So they've seen it all. They've done our jobs. So they get it. Having that support makes a big difference for me, because they believe in us.
TW: It's very rare for a leadership team to tell someone to be themselves. To say, 'I'm not gonna tell you what to do. You know what to do. So trust yourself and trust us to help you.' That freedom [from Pepper], within boundaries and with respect, is amazing.
AB: What's business been like so far in 2025, with all the rate cuts, the recent election and tariff noise abroad?
TW: It has been very busy. And where we differentiate, I think, is getting brokers to trust us. So we've been around for 20-plus years. And when it's uncertain, [we tell brokers] trust those that have been there through the highs and the lows. We tell them, 'hey, you know what we're like. We were her during the [Great Financial Crisis]; we were here during COVID, and we're here today. And then they know they can trust us.
KM: We're not a tick-box lender. We look at a customer based on the whole holistic picture of what their full financial position is. We don't put them into a box and say, you fit here. We understand the full picture of the customer and then give them a solution based on a very kind of unique offering.
AB: How do you get a broker to trust you?
TW: I never sell a product to a broker. I say to them, 'What are you finding difficult to sell at the moment? What is it? What are you finding hard to convert? How can I help you?’ Because someone can come in here tomorrow and give you a better rate tomorrow. But someone else will not come in here and give you a solution end to end, hold your hand through the whole process and actually care about you.
KM: We work with our brokers. We're not just broker BDMs. We're partners in this. So we're helping your clients as if we're working together.
AB: What’s your take on the growing competition between non-banks and banks?
KM: With the bank, it's just a strict, cookie-cutter criteria. If it doesn't meet their criteria, then it's a no. We play in the prime space, where if it were a bank customer they may need a more flexible solution, they may be self-employed. ATO debt, which is massive at the moment, with the current regulations in place. And we provide that.
TW: What can [traditional] banks offer you? Just the best rate? What separates the Big Four [major banks]? No disrespect. It's just the rate. Where with us, it's the service. It's the way we look at your income; we look at your ABN. The way we look at your situation, your credit report, your credit score, all that sort of stuff. People need solutions these days.
AB: What are your thoughts as we enter the back half of 2025, and enter 2026? Will it be more busy?
KM: It'll be busy, busy. More busy. We've already felt it since the last RBA reduction.
TW: And the confidence in the market, to get back out there, to jump in. Plus, we're bringing in solutions like 90% no LMI. People are jumping in who didn't think they could jump
KM: And we have 40-year loan terms, 1% buffers, 3% buffers. We're finding ways to fit people into products because home ownership is so important. We're getting them in where they haven't been able to get in because of bank restrictions. We allow people to get into their first home sooner.
