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The aggregator’s loan settlements rose by $1 billion in 2023 despite an “increasingly complex” lending environment.
Aggregator Connective has released its financial results for the year ended 31 December 2023, revealing that the total settlements across commercial, residential, and asset finance written by its 4,794 members rose to $94.8 billion in 2023, up from $93.8 billion in 2022.
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Connective stated that its residential settlements had “held steady” in 2023 – at around $87.6 billion – amid an “increasingly complex” lending environment as Australians endured rising interest rates. The aggregator’s 2022 calendar year results revealed that it had $80.1 billion in total residential settlements.
However, there was a 5 per cent increase in residential applications – from $106.01 billion in 2022 to $111.5 billion in 2023.
Commercial settlements rose to $10.9 billion in 2023, up from $9.8 billion in 2022, with the last three months of the year seeing the strongest flow of commercial settlements ($3.3 billion).
November was its strongest-performing month, with $1.18 billion commercial settlements. This was an increase from June 2022 (Connective’s best-performing month in 2022), which saw less than a billion dollars in commercial settlements.
According to the group, it now has 30 per cent of the market share in commercial settlements and commercial broker numbers.
Connective’s asset finance settlements increased to $3.95 billion in 2023, an 18 per cent increase from 2022 (when it was $3.3 billion). Asset finance memberships increased by 34 per cent in 2023.
Glenn Lees, chief executive of Connective, commented: “Delivering consistent growth in a year of economic volatility, sustained rate hikes, and rising inflation is a testament to the skill of Connective’s members and their dedication to their clients.
“In what was a challenging year for many reasons, our members continued their focus on delivering outstanding outcomes for their clients. The Connective team can be proud of the support they have provided our members over the past year – and the role they have played in our members’ growth and success.”
He also revealed that there had been a 15 per cent increase in residential applications in January and February 2024 compared to early 2023.
Lees commented: “We expect this will flow on to settlements in 2024 as demand for brokers grows.”
Speaking on the importance of brokers, Lees said: “Brokers continue to be increasingly important to borrowers who seek assistance in helping them navigate the complexity of a competitive and rapidly evolving economic lending landscape.
“Our members are telling us that borrowers are keen to discuss opportunities to return to the property market in preparation for expected potential rate cuts later in the year.”
The aggregator also expanded its lender panel in 2023 to include Salt&Lime, Moneytech, Alex Bank, GRENKE, Azora, MONEYME, Autopay. It recently partnered with digital commercial broking platform CitoPlus.
[Related: CitoPlus partners with nMB and Connective]
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