Bluestone's white-label loans take off with NZFSG

Brendon Smith

Select is a range of loan products backed by non-bank lender Bluestone which span the prime, near prime and specialist niches. It is designed to provide a suitable solution for most borrowers who fall outside bank lending criteria.

NZFSG chief executive Brendon Smith says in the first two months there have been $250 million in applications and the conversion rate has been high. When Select was launched it was aiming for a conversion rate of 75% of applications.

He says Select offers competitive rates and case-by-case credit assessments for self-employed borrowers, property investors and those struggling with a chequered credit history.

The product was not designed to compete with banks, however banks have been slow with turnaround times and were saying "no" more often than before.

Smith says Select aims for a three-day turnaround and it is also trialling straight-through processing from the groups MyCRM software.

“Seeing Select so enthusiastically welcomed by our advisers has been wonderful, as it proves that we were able to develop solutions that meet genuine needs of Kiwi borrowers as well as their mortgage advisers," Smith says.

He says Select offers a valuable opportunity for advisers to diversify their businesses and grow long-term value via proprietary, best-in-class loan products.

Bluestone Managing Director New Zealand Peter Wood said: “The early response by the market has been truly heartening to see, and will guide us as we embark on developing new service and product innovations.”

Both NZFSG and Bluestone have invested heavily to ensure the Select brand is backed by industry-leading service delivery and back-end support. As part of this effort, Bluestone’s newly appointed Head of Sales New Zealand Sue Griffiths has expanded her business development team, which is now made up of five industry experts who cover every region of the country. Bluestone’s credit processing and loan support teams have also experienced significant growth to ensure a smooth service delivery during the application process.

The lender and aggregator are now embarking on further back-end improvements via a large-scale system integration that will be the first of its kind in the New Zealand market.

Smith said; “As New Zealand’s largest adviser group, it is our priority to ensure our service and delivery platforms represent the best the industry has to offer, particularly with new regulations looming. As such, we will work with Bluestone to ensure the Select brand will continue to provide the highest value to our advisers and their borrowers, while benefiting from simple loan processes and high-touch personal service.”