Brighten appoints new senior BDM for Victoria

Publication Date: Friday, 22 August 2024
This article originally appeared in The Adviser.

The non-bank lender’s new appointment comes in response to strong demand for finance in the Victorian market.
Non-bank lender Brighten has announced the appointment of Nicole Woodruff as a senior business development manager (BDM) for Victoria.

She brings more than 24 years of financial services experience to the role, having most recently been a BDM team at non-major bank AMP and previously having worked at non-bank Pepper Money for a period of eight years between 2013 and 2022.

Woodruff joins a team of eight BDMs and will focus on supporting brokers in the southern state, which has been experiencing strong demand.

Victoria accounted for 28 per cent of Australia’s total new loan commitments over the past 12 months, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) June 2024 Lending Indicators release, the highest proportion of any state.

ABS data has also previously found that Victoria had the highest number of new loan commitments for first home buyers (3,297) in June, outpacing the other more populous states NSW (2,369), Queensland (1,874), and Western Australia (1,359).

This demand coincides with a cooling in Victoria house prices in the three months to July 2024.

Average dwelling values dipped 0.9 per cent in Melbourne and 1.4 per cent in regional Victoria, according to CoreLogic data, compared to an average rise of 1.7 per cent for the rest of the country.

Chris Meaker, Brighten’s director and head of distribution, said Woodruff’s appointment would help Brighten brokers meet the surge in demand from Victorian borrowers.

“While there’s strong demand in Western Australia, Queensland and New South Wales for new home loans, we’re seeing that Victoria has the highest demand,” Meaker said.

“We’re excited to welcome Nicole to our team to help our brokers meet this demand and grow their business.”

Woodruff added: “Brighten’s diverse products and solution-based approach allow borrowers to access finance that they might not otherwise have access to.

“Brighten’s team is committed to empowering home ownership for all Australians, especially the underserved segments in the market, including the self-employed,” she said.

Earlier this year, Brighten announced the appointment of senior BDM Scott Chandler, who joined the non-bank’s Western Australian team to expand its distribution network.