Returning to the heart of being a broker

Outgoing Loan Market chief executive David Hart says brokers are more relevant than ever in the property and lending world.

Tuesday, August 13th 2013, 7:08AM

by Susan Edmunds

Mortgage brokers must work to provide a full package of services to clients in order to stay relevant and offer value, says departing Loan Market chief executive David Hart.

Hart has decided that after almost four years in the top job at the country’s biggest broking group, he will step aside.

Executive chairman Sam White said Hart had a tremendous impact on the Loan Market business. He joined as a broker nine years ago and was one of the most successful in New Zealand before leaving his own broking business to take over as chief executive when Loan Market merged with Plan NZ.

White said: “During the time he led our group he gave us clarity and direction. He has a great passion for helping our brokers grow their businesses and he understood the key changes that were happening in the mortgage and insurance industries here. He was a key architect of the merger with Allied Kiwi and has laid a strong foundation for the group.”

Hart is to return to Tauranga to focus on his own business at the end of September.

“It’s time to go and for someone else to come in,” he said. “I’ve been here for a while and came in with the intention of doing a few things I wanted to get done, such as getting scale into the business and being relevant for lenders going forward, as well as a new software platform for brokers. Those targets have been hit now. It’s time for the next move for me personally.”

Hart said he was looking forward to working as a broker again. He was optimistic about the future of the industry. “Nothing really changes. With apps, at the end of the day it’s still a personal business. I haven’t seen an app sign anything yet. We’re very relevant at the moment. If we were going to be replaced, why are we rolling so much business at the moment?”

He was proud of how Loan Market had grown. “It’s a big business now compared to what it was. One of the best things has been the pride I have got out of seeing brokers grow their own businesses, as individual businesspeople. Several of them now run quite big businesses, seeing them put that together has been great.”

Loan Market will advertise the chief executive role.

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