Optima News

It is often said that if there is one constant in life it is change, and over the last 5 or so years the Optima Lending business has been operating with incredible changes in that industry, and in market conditions.

We have had over 4% of interest rate rises, and reductions. We have had the Global Financial Crisis and a period of over 2 years where there was virtually no money available for lending. Companies such as HSBC and GE Money have left the Australian marketplace, and major brands such as Wizard Home Loans have simply disappeared. Banks have unilaterally changed lending criteria overnight on top of official interest rate changes, and have added further margin to the official cash rate almost without fear of loss of market share. Indeed, today, it appears that almost 90% of home loan lending is run by the "Big 4 Banks”.

Despite that, clients tell us that they really value the Optima Lending service. They like being able to deal with someone with a very wide range of finance facilities, they like having someone do the research and make recommendations, and they like the choice of not necessarily having to deal with the "Big 4". They also like being able to deal with their tax, wealth management and finance affairs all in the one place. Our feedback is that clients value the ease of dealing with Optima Lending because we generally hold your tax and other financial information, making the whole process that much easier and more streamlined.

So we get the message that client's like the idea of Optima Lending, but a dramatically changed financial and regulatory environment mean that we have to adapt from our original model concept.

We are therefore very pleased to announce a strategic partnership with Neil Cato and Peter Clothier, the 2 principals of Perception Finance. Perception is an independent mortgage broking group with over 20 mortgage brokers mainly in the Sydney basin. Neil and Peter will provide us with in-house mortgage broking and finance services. Both are extremely experienced lenders with combined experience of almost 40 years in the mortgage industry combined with Perception's resources and support, Optima Lending will provide a first class service to Optima Group clients and their referrals.

After a period of very tight money through the GFC, lenders are now returning to the market and there are some excellent deals around, particularly for refinancing investment property loans. We encourage you to use the response sheet or call the office direct to organise a meeting with Neil or Peter.