Aussie (Financial Group)
Encyclopedia
Aussie is one of Australia’s leading non-bank retail financial services group with operations spanning all mainland capital cities and major regional centres throughout Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

.

As one of the country's largest non-bank providers of financial services, Aussie has a loan book of more than $39 billion. Aussie brokers offer guidance, assess eligibility, lodge the applications and then support first home buyer or borrowers through the home loan process.

The company has over 140 stores in all seven Australian states.

History

Aussie was founded as Aussie Home Loans on 17 February 1992  by owner and executive chairman John Symond
John Symond
John Symond is an Australian businessman. He is best known as the founder of Aussie Home Loans. -Early life:John Symond was born on 17 August 1947 in Crookwell, New South Wales and raised in Sydney, Australia. Growing up he spent most of his time between Brisbane, where his mother's family lived,...

. The company was unique in its approach to home loans, offering 24 hours a day service and loans far cheaper than those offered by banks. In 1994 the company introduced the securitisation of home loans, allowing them to offer loans upwards of 3% cheaper than its competitors. The company rapidly grew as consumers became aware of its products and banks were forced to copy Symond's methods as their market share rapidly diminished. The company under Symond's guidance re-invented itself as a mortgage broker in 2002, selling both its own products as well as the banks and also successfully introduced its own low rate credit card shortly thereafter. As of 2011, Aussie Home Loans has a loans portfolio of almost $40 billion. John Symond acts as Executive Chairman of the group with his nephew, James Symond (who has been with the company since its inception) it’s Executive Director.

Merger with Wizard Home Loans

In February
February
February is the second month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the shortest month and the only month with fewer than 30 days. The month has 28 days in common years and 29 days in leap years...

 2009, Aussie acquired Wizard Home Loans. The deal saw the loan book expand to more than $31bn (at the time). As part of the deal, Commonwealth Bank of Australia
Commonwealth Bank of Australia
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia is a multinational bank with businesses across New Zealand, Fiji, Asia, USA and the United Kingdom. Commonwealth Bank provides a variety of financial services including retail, business and institutional banking, funds management, superannuation, insurance,...

 (CBA) acquired up to $4 billion of mortgages originated by Wizard. Aussie also acquired the franchise distribution network of Wizard – of which CBA owned a 33 per cent stake. The deal covered over 160 outlets in city and regional areas around Australia and over 300 mortgage advisers. The acquisition added significant retail channel and distribution capability to all of Aussie’s existing operations.

Products and Services

Aussie’s accredited Mortgage Brokers represent 16 home loan brands, including all four major banks, while also offering their own suite of loan products including home loans, personal loans, credit cards and insurance
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...

.

Awards

On 9 June 2011, Aussie was awarded Mortgage Broker of the year at the Australian Banking and Finance Awards. The win was a remarkable fourth in a row and confirmed the company’s dominance in the Mortgage broking market. The company has also won numerous other awards including Most Innovative Product of the Year in 2009 for Loan Cover and 2010 for its own range of tiered pricing home loans – Aussie Classic.

Main article: List of Aussie Awards

Structure

Aussie Brokers are independently contracted to Aussie and are paid on a commission
Commission (remuneration)
The payment of commission as remuneration for services rendered or products sold is a common way to reward sales people. Payments often will be calculated on the basis of a percentage of the goods sold...

 only basis. Aussie gives potential brokers the chance to join a market leading brand with high consumer awareness as well as the opportunity to receive qualified leads and have access to office facilities and coaching from experienced sales managers and credit coaches.

Advertising and Sponsorship

Aussie has held corporate sponsorships of Australian sports teams including Collingwood Football Club
Collingwood Football Club
The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...

 in the AFL
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...

 and the New South Wales State of Origin side.

On March 4 2009 Aussie announced that it would take over Wizard Home Loans’ sponsorship of the NSW State of Origin Rugby League Team for the next two years. The move closely followed Aussie’s acquisition of Wizard Home Loans, the previous sponsor.
Aussie also inherited the sponsorship of AFL side Collingwood after the Wizard takeover. Both deals lasted two seasons (2009–2010) before Aussie withdrew to focus on new initiatives.

In 2002, Aussie purchased the naming rights in a five year plus five year deal with the stadium renamed Aussie Stadium. On 7 July 2007 the stadium reverted back to its original Sydney Football Stadium name after Aussie and the SCG Trust mutually elected not to extend the naming rights
Naming rights
In the private sector, naming rights are a financial transaction whereby a corporation or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, typically for a defined period of time. For properties like a multi-purpose arena, performing arts venue or an athletic field, the term ranges from three...

deal.

Key People

John Symond Executive Chairman and Founder
James Symond Executive Director
Stephen Porges Chief Executive Officer
David Smith General Manager Strategy and Products
Lynda Harris General Manager People
John McDonald General Manager Products and Technology
Stuart Tucker General Manager Marketing and Products

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK