BNK targets customers with complex finances

BNK Banking Corp has announced that it is looking to service what it calls “enterprising Australians”, or those customers with complex or “unusual” financial needs.

BNK managing director Simon Lyons said this is a large target market that has been poorly serviced by the bigger banks.

“Very few, if any, Australian banks have been set up or designed to meet the needs of customers that have complex or unusual financial affairs,” Mr Lyons said.

“As a result, entrepreneurs, small-business owners, the self-employed, freelance contractors, trusts, self-managed superannuation funds and self-funded retirees really get very poor service from the larger banks, particularly in the tighter lending environment of recent years.”

My Lyons said the target customers earn high incomes and often have a good asset base, and added this is an underserviced market.

“Although they are high-value customers, often, bigger banks have little capability to properly assess and understand their needs,” he said.

“We aim to keep building our systems and processes and employ great people who can really understand our customers’ story and assist them with faster turnaround times than other banks and in a more personal way.”

According to Mr Lyons, this customer base is value-focused rather than price-focused.

“Of course, they want value for money, but turnaround times, service and post-settlement customer care are also important to them, as are the right products that address their unique needs.”

Mr Lyons said that while neo-banks are targeting Millennials, BNK’s focus will be on a broader segment of the market that would allow it to achieve its goal of sustainable profitable growth.

[Related: BNK’s loan book grows past $200m]

Malavika Santhebennur is the features editor on the mortgages titles at Momentum Media.

Before joining the team in 2019, Malavika held roles with Money Management and Benchmark Media. She has been writing about financial services for the past six years.