Tell us about Eastwood Securities as a lender and how you differ from other non-bank lenders?
- The Eastwood Securities Mortgage Fund (ESMF) is managed by a team that takes a flexible approach to reviewing borrower applications. We are not constrained by highly structured application processes. We provide a more customised service to Finance Brokers who engage with us. If we are not able to assist, we determine that quickly so that no one’s time is wasted.
What are your target markets for short-term commercial and consumer loans?
- Geographically, we consider locations Australia wide, including regional and rural property, as security.
- Businesses we focus on include medium size enterprise across most industry types seeking ‘Intermediate Term’ or bridging funding support to achieve specific objectives.
What are some of the typical projects or reasons customers are seeking loans for?
- It is difficult to say that we have a typical borrower project focus, but a few examples include general debt consolidation, property purchases, ATO Tax debt settlement, discharge from administration by settlement of creditors, completion of partially constructed residential and commercial buildings, paying-out business partners during business separations and funding new business opportunities and expansions.
What are the different loan products you offer, including the consumer loans, and what are the advantages they offer for brokers and direct clients? (Include minimum and maximum value of loans, loan terms, security required etc)
- ESMF provides commercial and consumer credit regulated loans secured generally by First Mortgage over all types of real property. These are intermediate term loans for bridging purposes allowing borrowers time to refinance to mainstream lenders or sell down assets to discharge their loan.
- Our loans are ‘interest-only’ and range from $100,000 to $5.0mil with loan terms between 6 months and 3 years. Interest can be paid monthly or capitalised into the loan principal.
How much has the personal loans side of the business grown and why did Eastwood Securities move into this space?
- The Eastwood Securities Mortgage Fund doesn’t provide “personal loans” as such. While we do provide ‘consumer code regulated loans’, all of our loans are mortgage secured.
Explain how Eastwood Securities makes the loan process as simple as possible for brokers and their clients? What does the loan process and admin involve?
- ESMF provides personalised lending services to brokers including support for those who might require additional assistance managing private loan scenarios and applications.
How quickly are you able to make a decision on a loan applications?
- We can issue indicative letters of offer for finance within 24 hours of receiving an application or scenario briefing. Once required application information is received and security property valuations completed, it takes just 24 hours to issue a final letter of offer (unconditional) and move to documentation. A further 48 hours and we can settle assuming existing bank loan discharges are not required.
What are the advantages for brokers wanting to diversify into the short-term commercial loan and personal loan space?
- Attracting new & retaining existing clients by providing more and superior client solutions and thereby growing their own business.
Tell us about your broker network and how you are reaching out to new brokers?
- We operate with a network of finance brokers who focus in the non-conforming lending space. Through a targeted approach, our staff make direct contact with brokers at various industry functions, calling and through our referral network. Over ten years of operation we’ve found our most valuable referrers have come to us via a lot of personal contact work.
What has been the affect of COVID-19 on your market?
- The affect of COVID-19 is evolving as individuals and businesses come to grips with the new era of living with a disease that constrains how we live and do business. Private lending has been impacted like most other finance providers mainly in regard to the impact on clients needs and the banking sector. After an initial softening of private lending through the first six months of “COVID-19” we have seen significant increase in loan enquiries since the end of October 2020.
How can short-term lenders such as Eastwood Securities assist SMEs struggling with cashflow?
- Eastwood Securities can provide ‘intermediate term’ loans to anyone who has property with significant equity. And we are also able to provide ‘cash-out’ loans with interest and costs capitalised into the loan principal.
What do you think will happen in the commercial and consumer loan spaces over the next 12 months?
- We see significant opportunity for growth in our lending space as businesses require more flexible financial solutions delivered in a timely manner to meet rapidly changing market circumstances as we come out of the recent ‘Covid19” driven economic downturn.