New Zealand Home Loans saves Kiwis millions

Media release
For immediate release
Thursday 11 July 2013

New Zealand Home Loans saves Kiwis millions

New Zealand Home Loans saved its clients nearly $24 million in the last year, compared with how they would have fared getting their mortgages directly from a bank.

Unlike a traditional bank, the New Zealand-owned company aims to get its clients out of debt, not into it, by arranging their bank accounts to minimise interest costs, helping them to set financial and lifestyle goals and working with them to realise those goals.

This has paid off for its 16,800 clients, saving them a collective $23,826,225 (as of 31/5/13) – a new record for the company.

The 17-year-old company has experienced remarkable growth in recent years, and in the last financial year it cracked the $1 billion new-lending threshold for the first time and reached a record of $4 billion in total lending. At the same time it recorded significant growth in other key areas, notably in the number of its clients and franchises, and won its category in the prestigious Deloitte Fast 50 awards.

But New Zealand Home Loans CEO, Mark Collins, says the dollar amount it’s saved its clients is by far the most important indication of the company’s success.

“Our philosophy is about helping our clients to get out of debt as soon as possible, while realising their lifestyle goals. This figure tells us that we’re succeeding in one of our goals: to help clients arrange their banking in the most cost-effective way.”

In the Commission for Financial Literacy and Retirement Savings’, just-released, Financial Knowledge and Behaviour Survey, it concluded that financial literacy programmes should focus on the following areas:

Numeracy
Understanding budgeting, saving and planning
Understanding how to minimise costs and interest on debts
Understanding home loans

“We’re pleased to note that this is exactly what we help our clients to do,” says Collins. “This is one of the reasons behind our growth and our solid reputation among our clients – our model works by helping our clients reap the benefits of financial savviness.”

While much of the company’s growth has occurred in the Auckland and Christchurch markets, New Zealand Home Loans is growing strongly in the provinces. Collins says a big part of that is due to its reliance on word-of-mouth recommendations to generate new clients.

“At New Zealand Home Loans we focus more on conversations than marketing campaigns. Our consultants know that if they look after their clients’ interests well, then those clients will recommend them to family and friends. This is much more powerful than an advertisement.”

Collins says the company’s unique model has also driven the growth in the number of its branches, which has risen from 46 to 64 in the last two years alone. Despite lingering economic uncertainty, the New Zealand Home Loans franchise network has never been in better shape, with the per franchise revenue up 18% over the past year.

“Many of our consultants and franchisees have come to us from banks,” says Collins. “They have said that in the past they often wished they could have long-term relationships with their customers. Now they love being able to show their New Zealand Home Loans clients how they can make their money work for them, rather than for the banks.”

ENDS

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