"In just over four years we have tripled the size of our home loans portfolio from $2 billion to $6 billion dollars,” Sovereign general manager home loans Adrienne Smith says.
“Our average growth rate over that period has been a staggering 28% annually compared with 15% for the market as a whole.
“Sovereign has benefited from the foresight in identifying the rise in the non-conforming sector some years ago and this has contributed significantly to our growth. We now see the non-conforming sector as increasingly mainstream. More recently we have seen other lenders target this market but it will take some time for them to develop the necessary expertise.”
Sovereign deals exclusively with mortgage brokers and independent financial advisers.
"These distribution channels have seen support from many other financial organisations ebb away over the past few years. We are strong advocates of the broker and adviser communities because we believe in the value of independent financial advice."
"Brokers and advisers are also much better positioned to offer customers a complete financial package of a home loan and a risk protection plan. We see the growth in home loan lending as a significant contributor to the underinsurance problem we have today. Our philosophy has always been to encourage borrowers to take out appropriate life insurance cover whenever they obtain or extend a home loan.”
