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ING Direct has announced the launch of a new commercial lending training program for mortgage brokers as the bank looks to help them expand their skills and capitalise on diversification opportunities.
The full-day course, which will launch officially in January 2016, covers a variety of modules including borrowing types and the fundamentals of financial assessments, client interview and engagement techniques, the benefits and challenges of different business structures, and developing valuable partnerships.
Each training session will be limited to 12 brokers and will be conducted face to face as an interactive workshop led by ING Direct’s national partnership manager for commercial, John Kolyvas, in partnership with the bank’s state-based commercial lending teams.
Participants will also be provided with a comprehensive workbook covering all course materials as an ongoing reference point.
Mr Kolyvas said the intention of the course is to address the knowledge gap for residential brokers to enable them to successfully move into commercial lending.
“I spent 15 years specialising in commercial property lending before becoming a residential broker for a further 10 years, so I understand first-hand the differences not only between these two lending types, but also between the standard operations of commercial and residential broking businesses,” he said.
“In developing this program, we have purposefully moved beyond products and lending types to address the more intangible aspects of commercial broking such as client engagement, marketing and partnership opportunities. These are the elements that can make a real difference in building a sustainable, diversified business.”
Mr Kolyvas noted that as the residential property market across all major cities shows signs of slowing, the commercial real estate sector with its higher rental returns is set to offer a valuable opportunity for brokers to expand their businesses.
“We hope that our new training program will support our residential brokers to capitalise on this great opportunity,” he said.
[Related: Commercial Business Writers 2015]