Melbourne-based Bernard Desmond isn’t your typical mortgage broker – he’s an “opportunity broker." It's a title he’s earned through nearly two decades of industry experience, a long list of accolades, and a career built from the ground up. As the founder, director and chief executive officer of Blank Financial, Desmond leads a full-service brokerage he launched in 2017, working primarily in the residential lending space.
A serial entrepreneur with a background spanning ME Bank, Westpac, Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland, Desmond most recently took home the “Community Champion” award at the 2025 Mortgage & Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) State Excellence Awards for Victoria and Tasmania. He has also served as the Finance Brokers Association of Australia's (FBAA) state president for Victoria and Tasmania.
In our ongoing broker spotlight series, Australian Broker sat down with Desmond to discuss his journey – from growing up in India to reinventing himself in Australia – and what’s driving property trends, buyer confidence and broker success in 2025.
The following interview has been edited for grammar and clarity.
AB: Can you tell me a little bit about yourself? What is your background? How did you become a broker?
BD: I was born and brought up in India. I am the eldest of two siblings. I completed my schooling and graduated in India. I completed my bachelor's in commerce in 2003; following this I worked in India for P&O Nedlloyd, working in global customer support in their back office. In 2004, I secured a job in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, which took me out of India. I started in the logistics industry. In September 2006, I made a transition into banking and worked for a local bank called National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah (RAKBANK). I was fortunate to work in the mortgage sales department. And this is when my journey started as a mortgage coordinator in 2006. It's where I got firsthand exposure to home lending and sales.
In 2007, a life event reshaped my whole career after suddenly losing my dad to a heart attack. I went from being a boy with no commitments to suddenly becoming the head of the house. I was 22 years old. I no longer had to look after only myself, but also support my mother, who never worked, and younger brother, who was only 15 when this happened. This one event meant I had to look at ways to increase my income to support my family and I could see the pathway by changing from being a sales coordinator to becoming a salesperson. I was fortunate to secure a role in home loan sales with Barclays Bank in March 2007. Since then I have never looked back. The biggest risk I took in my life was going from a coordinator to a sales role, which has paid huge dividends. I grew in my role, and I stayed in Dubai until June 2012.
In June 2012, I decided to move to Australia. I had to again reinvent myself as no one in Australia would give me a job in banking or in sales. I was getting rejected before I could even make it to the interview shortlist.
Then I started in 2012 with Westpac as a personal banker. I kept trying for home lending roles with banks. The break came in March 2013 with ME Bank, when I secured a mobile lending manager role. I stayed with ME Bank from 2013 to 2017. During this period of four-and-a-half years, I had two children, in 2014 and 2015, bought a house, and brought my mother to Australia. Then in 2017, I decided to resign from my job at ME Bank to become a mortgage broker. The goal was always to go from being a banker to broker.
AB: What made you decide to start your own firm?
BD: As I established myself as a mobile lender for ME Bank, I was getting to a point where I could not help a lot of customers. I had limitations because I only had access to one bank's product. I knew that I could help more people if I had access to all the banks. So mortgage broking was the natural fit to this progression in my career. It provided me with access to all the banks, and I was able to build a business for myself and my family.
AB: Do you primarily work in residential home loans? Commercial lending? Or both?
BD: Majority of my work is in residential lending. I would say 95% is residential. We do help our clients with their commercial loans; however, the primary focus is residential.
AB: What is the secret to your success? Why do you think you've been successful as a broker?
BD: As a first-generation migrant, when you don't come from much wealth, you have this drive and hunger to create a life that you have only dreamed of. I think I have been able to succeed because I have not taken any shortcuts. I have put in the work over a long period of time. What looks like overnight success has been 21 years in the making, since I left the comfort of my parents' home in 2004 in search of creating a future for myself. I have been able to create a niche for myself by marketing my services to mainly real estate agents who refer us to a lot of our new customers.
AB: Do you work with clients nationwide? Or just in Melbourne? And what are your thoughts on Melbourne's continually evolving market? Has it reached a bottom? Is it a good investment bet at the moment?
BD: The majority of our clients are based out of Victoria. However, we do get clients who are from other states. It really depends on the referral source. I personally think Melbourne provides great value in terms of real estate. I think it's grossly underpriced and the bottom is behind us. Definitely a good investment in my opinion.
