Meet the BDM:
Tia Baena

Q. How and why did you become a BDM?

My career in banking and finance commenced over 17 years ago with ING. Over the years, I’ve been able to expand my skills and experience by taking on various roles in both operations and sales distribution. In 2018 I took on a relationship manager role in the third-party distribution team, where I looked after a portfolio of brokers. I found this job very interesting and different to my previous role, as a home loan specialist selling directly to customers. I found the relationship manager role really resonated with me as my passion and interests lie in relationship building and finding home loans solutions for different scenarios.

One of my key objectives is to help others get ahead and succeed in work and life. It was therefore only fitting for me in 2022 to step up as a business development manager (BDM) to support broker partners to be successful in both work and life. I’ve been a BDM for almost two years now and I love sharing my extensive experience and knowledge with brokers. I add value by workshopping scenarios and being solution-focused to fulfil broker and customer needs.

Q. Why did you join the company?

I wanted to work and represent a company that aligned with my personal values and that I am genuinely proud to promote. ING has always had a reputation for having a great culture and great people and providing exceptional customer experience.

Since the start, ING has supported me with my personal career development. It’s also helped me achieve a healthy work/life balance. This has encouraged me to succeed both personally and professionally and this is why, 17 years down the track, I’m still proud to be a part of ING. There’s a term coined at ING for long-term employees – they ‘bleed orange’!

Q. How do you work with brokers to ensure good customer outcomes?

It’s vital to be transparent, honest, and upfront with brokers. Maintaining a good two-way channel of communication ensures brokers are kept abreast of the loan progression and their clients are kept informed all the way. I appreciate being a broker can be a very stressful job. Being able to get answers to inquiries promptly is always very appreciated by the brokers I work with.

I strive to respond to my brokers via phone and email within two to four hours. Where there’s a scenario that is outside ING’s credit policies, sometimes this means quickly saying ‘no’ to the application. However, there are also times when thinking outside the box helps and this is where I feel I can add most value. I take the time to workshop the application with the broker and the credit team to find a solution and get their buy-in before the deal is submitted.

I also proactively engage with brokers via monthly webinars, joint lender focus groups, and regular visitations to ensure brokers are kept up to date with ING’s latest initiatives, policy niches (including reminders about niche policies), and procedures.

Q. What are your top tips to enable brokers looking to work more efficiently with BDMs?

I recommend brokers utilise ING’s broker portal for home loan resources, such as product information, interest rates, and underwriting guidelines (to identify whether a scenario fits). For complex scenarios, I’d encourage brokers to contact me directly to discuss and disclose all pertinent aspects to ensure I am able to help workshop appropriately. This will ensure brokers submit a quality deal for a positive credit decision.

Finally, it is important that brokers provide all documentation before submission, with comprehensive submission notes for the credit assessor to better understand the customers’ needs and take into consideration the bigger picture. This will ensure the application is assessed quickly with minimal or no delays, resulting in a smooth, easy, positive, and consistent broker and customer experience.