AMP restructures home lending team

AMP Bank has restructured its home lending team, with its former head of intermediary distribution and finance, Paul Herbert, leading the bank’s lending and everyday banking distribution.

Starting on 1 May, Herbert is now leading the distribution of lending via its broker partners (who write around 94 per cent of the bank’s home loan volume) and the direct-to-consumer channel. He is also leading the business finance loans, deposits via fixed income brokers and customer retention teams.

Speaking to Mortgage Business about the new structure, Herbert explained that the bank saw the “opportunity to streamline” its lending channels as the bank continues its digitisation journey and technology platform shift.

“It made sense to bring together distribution, in its larger sense, for home lending through intermediaries and direct together, along with our distribution through fixed income brokers and brokers for deposits,” he said.

“Understanding how important looking after our existing home loan customers are, we also took the opportunity as part of this process to bring our home lending retention team into the team.”

As such, both broker and direct customers will be serviced by the same retention team (previously two different teams). Sukanya Venkataraman has be appointed as the channel owner for the newly merged acquisition and retention team.

According to the new head of lending and everyday banking distribution, the change to the home lending team means that bank has “a one-way approach to the market and a unified approach to the market”.

“That's important because, as a bank, we [understand] that if a customer chooses to deal with AMP - either through a broker, or direct, or through our digital acquisition channels - then we want to give them the same great experience and give them the same products, at the same price.”

As part of the restructure, Danielle Main, AMP Bank’s Victoria-based area manager, has been named as the bank’s inaugural national manager for business finance (effective 1 May).

In her new role, Main is leading the business finance team, which enables brokers and advisers to acquire or merge businesses with their current and/or future ongoing recurring revenue (such as trail) as security, so they can grow their business. The product also enables brokers/advisers to refinance loans from other lenders, make equity purchases, or undertake business enhancements, such as fitouts.

AMP Bank is also expected to soon welcome a new national sales manager for broker distribution, who will lead the non-major bank’s delivery model to brokers and lead the road-based business development managers (BDMs).

Meanwhile, Gary Anderson, a former head of customer experience and product at IMB Bank, has commenced in the role as senior manager for broker experience and distribution, leading the desk-based BDMs.

“This gives us real clarity and really narrows down our focus and our delivery model to brokers so we can deliver really good service,” Herbert told Mortgage Business.

[Related: AMP reveals increase in broker flow for FY23]