Revealed: Australian Mortgage Awards 2023 excellence awardees

Ahead of the Australian Mortgage Awards 2023, we are excited to announce this year’s excellence awardees.

Featuring a black tie gala dinner at the Star Event Centre in Sydney on Friday, October 13, the awards recognise and celebrate excellence in the mortgage and finance industry in areas such as service delivery, innovation, professionalism and/or leadership.

Organised by Key Media and supported by Mortgage Professional Australia and Australian Broker, the Australian Mortgage Awards honour the “best of the best” across the nation.  

Westpac is the event partner, supporting the Australian Mortgage Awards for the 14th year.

 “Australians trust and value the independent service mortgage brokers provide,” Westpac Group head of mortgage broker distribution Warren Shaw said. 

“We support and celebrate this as we come together to recognise an industry of hard-working and high-achieving professionals at this year’s AMAs.

The AMAs enjoy widespread support across the industry. This year’s premium sponsors are NAB and PRPTY360 are premium sponsors.

Award sponsors include Adelaide BankANZBankwest, Commonwealth Bank, Equity-OneFBAAFirstmacGateway Bank, Hays, La Trobe FinancialLibertyMFAAMortgage ChoiceOnDeckPepper Money, PropTrack, Q2, Rate Money, Resimac and ubank.

FINSTREET is the VIP post awards event sponsor, and PRPTY 360 is the champagne sponsor.  Fifo Capital is photo booth sponsor, Maxiron Capital is the social media sponsor and SongDivision is the entertainment partner.

Brokers have been busy placing nominations for the 25 award categories, which closed on June 30.

Lender excellence awardees comment on industry recognition

Suncorp Bank, La Trobe Financial, RedZed and Resimac are among the excellence awardees (finalists) in the Q2 Bank of the Year and Rate Money Non-Bank of the Year categories.

Suncorp Bank head of broker partnerships Troy Fedder (pictured above left) said that the bank was “genuinely excited” to be named among the excellence awardees for Bank of the Year.

“It feels great to be recognised at this level and it’s an indicator that we’re making a difference to our brokers and customers,” Fedder said. “Our team is thrilled and energised by the acknowledgement knowing they have all played a role in achieving this and are ambitious to do more in FY24.”

Reflecting on business successes over the last year, Fedder said that despite changing market conditions, the bank had remained focused on delivering for its brokers and customers by making “improvements that matter”.

“Our Suncorp Bank SunLight innovation was one of the driving forces behind our market leading turnaround times, streamlining the assessment of eligible loans with a decision returned to customers in 48 business hours,” he said.

La Trobe Financial chief lending officer Cory Bannister (pictured above second left) said that the business was “incredibly proud and delighted” to have been nominated for Non-Bank of the Year.

“Recognition such as this is greatly appreciated and is indicative of the great work performed by the whole team here at La Trobe Financial – an amazing team of people who continually place ‘others before self’,” Bannister said.

The “others before self” philosophy keeps the team focused on allowing many creditworthy Australians to realise their property ownership and investment goals, when at times, others have retreated from the market or chosen to overlook high quality borrower segments, he said.

Today more than ever, the non-bank sector plays a pivotal role in supporting the financial needs of Australians, Bannister said. Based on the events of the past 12 months, La Trobe Financial believes that this is likely to remain the case for many years ahead.

“In the current environment, with interest rates increasing, cost of living rising and traditional banks focused on ‘vanilla’ automatable credit, La Trobe Financial’s customer base continues to grow as an increasing number of Australians seek lenders that can provide tailored, common sense solution,” Bannister said.

RedZed chief sales and marketing officer Loralle Slater (pictured above second right) described receiving recognition as an excellence awardee for the Non-Bank of the Year as “extremely exciting”. 

“We are incredibly proud of the way RedZed supports and empowers the self-employed community, and it is encouraging to learn that our holistic, common-sense approach to business, income and lending is valued by our customers and the broader finance industry,” Slater said.

Noting that 97% of RedZed business volumes are sourced via broker partners, Slater said that the achievement was also a reflection of the strength of RedZed’s relationship with the third-party distribution channel.

RedZed is proud of the digital transformation outcomes it has delivered over the last year, specifically the rollout of the nCino loan application origination platform, Slater said.  The business has also made significant inroads in the environmental, social and governance (ESG) space, and has developed a free educational broker resource, to be introduced to the market in the coming months.

The recent ‘RedZed Nature: Broker Experience Research’ showed that overall broker satisfaction with RedZed remains very high, Slater said.

“It’s been a busy, challenging yet rewarding 12 months, and we look forward to celebrating the year with our peers at the Australian Mortgage Awards,” she said.

Resimac general manager distribution Chris Paterson (pictured above far right) said that given the level of competition in the non-bank space, it was great to be recognised as a Non-Bank of the Year excellence awardee.

“Resimac strives to be a solutions-based lender for a broad range of customers and gaining this recognition is reward for heading in the right direction,” Paterson said.

Over the last year, Resimac has continued to provide solutions for brokers and customers, particularly in the self-employed segment, he said.

“We’ve worked hard to support brokers through increased commission on our near prime and specialist products,” Paterson said.

“We have also adjusted credit policies to be more flexible and accommodating to customer needs and improved the customer experience.”

2023 Australian Mortgage Awards Excellence Awardees 

The full list of excellence awardees is available on the Australian Mortgage Awards website and is available below. Each of the excellence awardees is a finalist for the 2023 Australian Mortgage Awards.

LENDER AWARDS

Q2 BANK OF THE YEAR

Bank of Sydney

Bankwest

ING Australia

Suncorp Bank

The Westpac Group

ubank

RATE MONEY NON-BANK OF THE YEAR

Brighten Home Loans

Heartland Reverse Mortgages

La Trobe Financial

Liberty Financial

Pallas Capital

Pepper Money

RedZed

Resimac

PROPTRACK FINTECH LENDER OF THE YEAR

Butn Limited

Funding.com.au

Prospa

ubank

Wisr

MORTGAGE MANAGER OF THE YEAR

Better Mortgage Management

FINSTREET

Home Affordability Solutions

Mortgage Ezy

Rate Money

BROKER AWARDS

LA TROBE FINANCIAL BROKER OF THE YEAR – COMMERCIAL

Daniel Green, Green Finance Group

George Karam, BF Money

Isabella Constantinou, Simplicity Loans & Advisory

Jean-Pierre Gortan, Simplicity Loans & Advisory

Joseph Portolesi, JPI Finance

Marwan Rahme, Kanebridge Capital

Kevin Wheatley, Bayside Residential & Commercial Mortgages

Son Pham, Rethink Financing

FBAA BROKER OF THE YEAR – RESIDENTIAL

Alex Veljancevski, Eventus Financial

Chris Bates, Blusk

Christian Stevens, Shore Financial

Chuyu (Kiki) Feng, AUSUN Finance

Graeme Holm, Infinity Group Australia

Josh Egan, Astute Melbourne City South, Gippsland and Newstead

Louisa Sanghera, Zippy Financial Group

Mark Davis, The Australian Lending & Investment Centre

Parth Shah, Jabsons Finance

Sarah Thomson, Loan Market Geelong City

PEPPER MONEY BROKER OF THE YEAR – SPECIALIST LENDING

Hayden Turner, KeyStart Finance

Helen Avis, Specialist Mortgage

Mark Anyon, Green Finance Group

Michael Hughes, AHK Finance

Michael Maiolo, SMSF Loan Experts

Rojan Paudel, Home Loan Experts

Samuel Gardiner, TSC Mortgage Brokers/Punters Finance

Suvidh Arora, Cinch Loans

EQUITY-ONE BROKER OF THE YEAR – PRODUCTIVITY

Andrew Hadjidemetri, Australian Financial and Mortgage Solutions

Ben Walker, First Finance Solutions – BW Finance Solutions

Christopher Raymond, Unconditional Finance

Chuyu (Kiki) Feng, AUSUN Finance

Hasitha Dharmasena, JETT Finance

Leah Busby, Blackfish Finance

Mohit Lal Pradhan, Home Loan Experts

Parag Dixit, Nfinity Financials

Suvidh Arora, Cinch Loans

Vivienne Than, Home Loan  Experts

NAB BROKER OF THE YEAR – REGIONAL 

Brenden Lowbridge, Money Links

Duane Mengel, Mortgage Choice Coffs Harbour

Jarred Spurr, Hubbl.it

Kirsty McKinnon, Flair Finance

Liz McRae, Loan Market Geelong City

Matthew Turner, GSC Finance Solutions

Nick Smith, Red10 Finance

Paul Nelson, Nelson Financial

Vincent Woodgate, Woodgate Finance

Xavier Quenon, Go Mortgage

ADELAIDE BANK YOUNG GUN OF THE YEAR

Baz Khan, Mortgage Advice Bureau Sydney

Bradley Donnelly, Green Finance Group

David Lucas, Indigo Finance

Jyh Kao, JD Capital

Kim Bui, Lending Hub Co.

Morgan Bushell, Full Circle Finance

Nicholas Hakim, Smartmove Professional Mortgage Advisors

Peter Jin, Keylend

Shubham Bhaskar, Sheel Capital

Terry Wong, Fundex Capital

Veronica Vojnikovic, Vevo Financial Services

BROKERAGE AWARDS

PRPTY360 BROKERAGE OF THE YEAR – DIVERSIFICATION

The Australian Lending & Investment Centre

AUSUN Finance

Birdie Wealth

Blackfish Finance

Build Invest Grow

Infinity Group Australia

Leopard Lending

Marquee Group

Secure Finance

TM Finance Group

Ufinancial

MFAA BROKERAGE OF THE YEAR (1-5 STAFF)

Bayside Residential & Commercial Mortgages

MoneyQuest Penrith and Blue Mountains

Mortgage Choice (St Peters)

Mortgage Choice in Lane Cove

Nfinity Financials

Nelson Financial   

Pristine Finance

Reach Lending Group

Zippy Financial Group

RESIMAC BROKERAGE OF THE YEAR (6-20 STAFF)

Atelier Wealth

Birdie Wealth

Blue Crane Capital

Infinity Group Australia

JKK Solutions

Ming Finance

MortgageWorks

Reservoir Finance

Seniors First – Reverse Mortgage Broker

Specialist Mortgage

COMMONWEALTH BANK BROKERAGE OF THE YEAR (>20 STAFF)

1st Street Financial

The Australian Lending & Investment Centre

Empower Wealth Mortgage Advisory

Entourage

Green Finance Group

Inovayt

Loan Gallery Finance

Shore Financial

Smartmove Professional Mortgage Advisors

Ufinancial

ANZ BROKERAGE OF THE YEAR – REGIONAL

Astute Gippsland

Atmosphere Capital

Capta Financial

Crunch Finance

Go Mortgage

Loan Market Geelong City

Mortgage Innovations

Preferred Finance

BANKWEST NEW BROKERAGE OF THE YEAR

Cinch Loans

Core Finance Co

Entourage Mornington

Kiri McNamara – Loan Market

Lending Hub Co.

Resolve Finance – Nedlands

Trusted Financial Choice

The Happy Finance Company

GATEWAY BANK BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE FROM AN INDIVDUAL OFFICE

Birdie Wealth

Home Loan Experts

JETT Finance

Loan Market Canberra

Mortgage Domayne

Mortgage Choice (St Peters)

Penny Finance

Shore Financial

Smartmove Professional Mortgage Advisors

Specialist Mortgage

INDUSTRY AWARDS

BEST INDUSTRY MARKETING CAMPAIGN

Bankwest

Birdie Wealth

Mortgage Choice

My Expert®

Pepper Money

ubank

NAB BEST INDUSTRY SERVICE

Broker Essentials

Deposit Assure

FINSTREET GROUP

LoanQ

PropTrack

Quickli

Rerise Digital

Ruan Burger and Success & Broker 

Uptick Marketing

AGGREGATOR AWARDS

UBANK BOUTIQUE AGGREGATOR OF THE YEAR

Liberty Network Services

Masters Broker Group

Money Quest Group

Platform Finance

ONDECK AGGREGATOR OF THE YEAR

Finsure

Loan Market

Mortgage Choice

National Mortgage Brokers

outsource Financial

BDM AWARDS

FIRSTMAC BEST AGGREGATOR BDM

Anne-Marie Deieso, Loan Market

Anthony Wick, National Mortgage Brokers

Ben Livera, Mortgage Choice

Erin Williams, AFG

Haley Bellamy, AFG

Sarah Chan, outsource Financial

Shelley Tetlaw, Loan Market

Taryn Howe, Loan Market

Van Vu, Finsure


BEST MAJOR BANK BDM

Anita Crawford, Westpac

Anthony Gravina, NAB

Anurag Bonde, Commonwealth Bank

Blake Hauber, Westpac

George Markos, ANZ

Jessica Matthews, Commonwealth Bank

Kym Ning, ANZ

Lily Parle, Westpac

Sam Tang, Westpac

Yash Dave, NAB

HAYS BEST NON-MAJOR BANK BDM

Aysun Portoglou, ubank

Helen Bozikis, Bankwest

Kim Lau, Suncorp Bank

Madeleine Papathanasiou, Bank of Melbourne

Michael Anastasovski, HSBC

Nicholas Brookes, ING

Roohi Kumar, St.George Bank

Sally Hillman, St.George Bank

Tes Anderson, Bankwest

Tony Lionello, ubank

MORTGAGE CHOICE BEST NON-BANK BDM

Belinda Gray, Bluestone

Chris Maamoun, Funding.com.au

Dragan Latincic, Firstmac

Harry Stewart, Pepper Money

Jaime Aplin, Prospa

Jimmy Hou, Brighten Home Loans

Jo Oliver, Resimac

Liz Mollica, Resimac

Simon Winters, SHIFT

Waran Chandiran, La Trobe Financial  

NATIONAL AWARDS

WESTPAC AUSTRALIAN BROKER OF THE YEAR

This award recognises the most outstanding mortgage broker in Australia. The excellence awardees in this category comprise the winners of the individual broker categories.

  • LA TROBE FINANCIAL Broker of the Year – Commercial
  • FBAA Broker of the Year – Independent & Franchise
  • EQUITY-ONE Broker of the Year – Productivity
  • NAB Broker of the Year – Regional  
  • PEPPER MONEY Broker of the Year – Specialist Lending

This category is not open for nominations. Excellence awardees will be announced on the night.

LIBERTY AUSTRALIAN BROKERAGE OF THE YEAR

This award recognises the most outstanding brokerage operation in Australia. The excellence awardees in this category comprise the winners of the brokerage categories:

  • MFAA Brokerage of the Year (1-5 staff)
  • RESIMAC Brokerage of the Year (6-20 staff)
  • COMMONWEALTH BANK Brokerage of the Year (Over 20 staff)
  • PRPTY360 Brokerage of the Year – Diversification
  • ANZ Brokerage of the Year – Diversification
  • BANKWEST New Brokerage of the Year

This category is not open for nominations. Excellence awardees will be announced on the night

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