Rare chance to hear leaders share views in panel discussion
In what is believed to be a first for the industry, the heads of the FBAA, MFAA and CAFBA will come together for a panel discussion at National Finance Brokers Day 2024.
Participants at the August 21 event will have the opportunity to see FBAA managing director Peter White (pictured above left), MFAA CEO Anja Pannek (pictured above centre) and CAFBA CEO David Bushby (pictured above right) exchanging views.
The panel, titled Shaping the Future of Broking, will be moderated by Nectar Mortgages head of distribution and growth Andrew Stevens.
It’s a rare feat to get the leaders of the mortgage and finance industry’s three peak bodies in the same room together for an important discussion, and NFBD founder and organiser Dino Pacella is thrilled about it.
“To my knowledge, it has never happened before,” said Pacella, who is also the head of third party relationships at Marketplace Finance. “I think this is a first for the industry.”
“It was an opportunity to ask them to come together and share what their thoughts are on where the broking industry is going.”
Pacella (pictured below) said there was a lot of talk among brokers about clawbacks, and the possibility that brokers might get more power when it comes to lender’s loan discharges.
“NFBD is all about unity and bringing everyone together. I think it's only fair to have all three [industry bodies] there to share their thoughts.
“So I simply asked them and said, ‘Do you want to do something that's never been done before?’ and they've all agreed to it. It's fantastic. I think it's a testament of what the day has become.”
Appropriately, the NFBD 2024 theme is “Together, Stronger, Unstoppable”. The day-long event, followed by cocktail reception, will be held at the Sydney Masonic Centre
Industry leaders back NFBD 2024
White said the FBAA was honoured to be supporting NFBD 2024 as a key industry event, “celebrating the great outcomes and work that brokers do”.
“Throughout the journey of brokers in Australia coming from very humble beginnings in the late 1980s and early 1990s, it is important not to forget that coming together in support and celebration of each other and what the industry has achieved over the decades, is an important part of that journey,” White said.
“We’ve come a long way and we are stronger when united.”
Pannek said through the MFAA’s extensive research, and engagement with governments, regulators, consumer groups and other industry associations, it knew that the mortgage and finance broking industry remained essential to the strength of the Australian economy and to promoting positive outcomes for all Australians.
“With seven in 10 residential loans and four in 10 commercial loans written by brokers, the MFAA looks forward to supporting the National Finance Brokers Day, with this year’s theme of ‘Together, Stronger, Unstoppable’,” Pannek said.
“The MFAA has always supported a collaborative, whole of industry approach when it comes to the issues our members are facing. Our strong community of close to 15,000 members enables us to advocate on the industry’s behalf.”
Busby said CAFBA was the only industry association focusing solely on professional finance brokers in Australia, whose prime area of business was the distribution of commercial finance facilities to their clients.
He said CAFBA worked on behalf of its members to promote and encourage policies that advance the commercial finance industry and access to finance through government and legislative lobbying, education, and professional development.
“The benefits of the work we do extends to all finance brokers engaged in commercial and asset finance broking, not just our members, and we actively work with others across the industry for the good of all brokers in the sector,” Bushby said.
“For this reason, CAFBA is delighted to be a part of National Finance Brokers Day in support of the theme of ‘Together, Stronger, Unstoppable’.”
James Symond, Mark Bouris to appear at NFBD 2024
In another coup for NFBD 2024, two legends of the broking industry, former Aussie Home Loans CEO James Symond and Mark Bouris, executive chairman of Yellow Brick Road, will sit down together for a fireside chat led by Pacella.
Pacella said Symond had been observing the growth of National Finance Brokers Day.
“He believes in the event, the purpose of uniting the industry and raising awareness of the broking channel,” said Pacella.
Symond (pictured below left) and Bouris (pictured below right) are good friends, and Pacella said Symond had told him that the pair would love to talk on stage together at an event, something they had never done before.
“So I obviously jumped at that opportunity because the amount of knowledge they’d be able to share from growing a successful business within the industry and their thoughts and journeys and triumphs along the way, I think a lot of people are going to be interested in hearing about it.”
Jeremy Paul and other speakers
Also speaking at NFBD 2024 will be former Wallabies and ACT Brumbies rugby player Jeremy Paul, who works as a BDM at Adelaide Bank.
Pacella said Paul planned to talk about playing for the Wallabies during a highly successful period for the team and also discuss an incredibly rare health condition his wife suffers (Stiff Person Syndrome) and how the couple has battled to work through these challenges.
Paul’s talk is called “Miracles Can Happen.”
Other speakers to feature at NFBD include Mortgage Choice general manager product Nicole Devine, learning strategist Steve Corney, and Penny Wilson, director – infrastructure and advisory at Opteon.
Pepper Money head of mortgages – retail broker Siobhan Williams will be the MC.
Time to educate and celebrate
Pacella said NFBD 2024 would be a sharper, more condensed event than in previous years, with fewer speakers and two panel discussions.
He said he wanted participants to take some value from the speakers, learning things that could help them grow either in business or personally.
Apart from the educational aspect, the day was about celebrating the industry.
In line with the theme “Together, Stronger, Unstoppable”, Pacella said NFBD was not an exclusive event run by one association or one aggregator.
“It's for everybody and everyone. Unity is the basis of NFBD … we want people to acknowledge the work that they've done over the last 12 months.
“We highlight the benefits of brokers to consumers but sometimes I don't think we do it well enough and actually say ‘well, there's people behind these settlements and these transactions and lives have changed at times because of the expertise of brokers.”
Pacella said he expected about 500 people to attend the event, which had the record support of 48 partners.
For those that can’t make it Sydney on Aug. 21, NFBD 2024 will be livestreamed.
To buy tickets to attend or join the live stream, or for details on the agenda, visit nationalfinancebrokersday.com.au
What do you think the heads of the MFAA, FBAA and CAFBA should focus on in their discussion at NFBD 2024? Share your views in the comments section below
