Equity-One continues to gain traction, with its sight now set on a national expansion.
The Melbourne-based commercial mortgage lender and investment fund has recently hired two new people in an attempt to grow its share across Australia's third-party channel.
Nick Rogers has been made head of product distribution and origination, while Maurice Corsi is now national sales manager. The duo has been tasked with overseeing the company's plans to grow its distribution nationwide. They are also responsible for efforts to advance mortgage broker education and professional development within Australia's expanding private credit and non-bank credit space.
"We are delighted to have Nick and Maurice join our family," Dean Koutsoumidis, founder and managing director of the firm, told Australian Broker. "Their experience and knowledge is in line with our ethos of helping small- and-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) find solutions when they are not bank-ready. We look forward to expanding our offerings to a greater broker network and to deliver great outcomes with the help of our new team-member."
Melbourne-based Rogers hails most recently from Banjo Loans. His resume also includes stints at National Australia Bank (NAB), illion and financial services firm Corpay, formerly AFEX.
Corsi, who is also based in Melbourne, came from Viking Aggregation, where he most recently served as regional manager commercial and residential for Victoria and Tasmania. He has also had jobs at ANZ, Suncorp Group, CitoPlus and Symple Loans, among others.
The arrival of Rogers and Corsi comes as some lenders are slowly moving away from the third-party broker channel, even as brokers remain a key access point for many borrowers.
As of the September quarter, 77.3% of all new residential home loans in Australia were facilitated by mortgage and finance brokers, according to the latest data from the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia (MFAA).
Yet despite the results, some lenders are doubling down on their proprietary channels.
Commonwealth Bank (CBA) reported that broker-originated loans made up 32% of new flows during the September quarter, down from 34% the year before. At the same time, the major bank grew its loan book by more than $9 billion in the quarter, suggesting that CBA is strengthening its hold over direct distribution.
CBA — one of two initial lenders in the government's new Help To Buy Scheme — said brokers will not be able to write loans during the December launch of the program, although executives said that might change in the future.
National Australia Bank (NAB) is also ramping up its proprietary channel. In November, the major bank revealed that 41% of residential mortgages in financial year 2025 were written through the proprietary channel, up from 38% the year before.
NAB third-party still wrote the majority of home loans at the bank, just not as many as in previous years. In FY25, roughly 59% of all new business came through the third-party broker channel, down from 61.1% in the second half of FY24, and 64.9% in the first half of FY24.
The results from both firms have sparked debate over the future of Australia’s broking industry.
At Equity-One, Rogers said: "From my experience, brokers are looking for fast, flexible and easy solutions for their clients and that's in our DNA."
Corsi added: "We look forward to growing Equity-One's national footprint via the third-party channel."
Koutsoumidis launched Equity-One in 2004. In July, the firm celebrated 20 years in the business and more than $2.7 billion in loans funded since 2005.
The firm became majority-owned by Westlawn Finance Limited — part of the Consolidated Operations Group (COG) — following its acquisition in 2022.
Equity-One specializes in property financing and investments, supporting borrowers seeking non-bank lending solutions and investors on the lookout for secure, attractive returns.
The lender offers short-term, property-backed loans ranging from $50,000 to $10 million for Australian companies, trusts, and self-managed super funds (SMSFs), typically on 12-month, interest-only terms.
