Marcus Neville (NSW) joins the Leveraged Equities Team from ANZ Margin Lending where he excelled in building the business since 2010. Marcus is a great communicator and effortlessly builds rapport with key stakeholders.  Prior to ANZ, Marcus was at Coin Financial Software and Macquarie Bank. Marcus is originally from the UK where he worked with Citigroup.

Richard Sleep (VIC) was previously a Team Leader with the Leveraged Equities business in Melbourne looking after Macquarie, JB Were, RBS and Evans & Partners.  Richard has been with the business for over 11 years and started out with Goldman Sachs JBWere Equity Finance as an Administration Officer and worked his way through the ranks as a Communications Officer, Account Manager and Senior Account Manager.

Matthew Low, Senior Manager, Partner Development at Leveraged Equities said: “Richard and Marcus will both be great assets to the Partner Management and Distribution team working collaboratively with the broader Leveraged Equities business to achieve the growth targets we have set”.

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Residential property on the move

The Bendigo Bank/REIA Real Estate Market Facts Report for the December Quarter records an increase in the Australian weighted average median house price of 3.8% compared to the September quarter 2012.

Other dwellings recorded an increase of 2.4%.
 
“Melbourne and Hobart in particular have seen strong growth in the past quarter and buyers are beginning to emerge around the country, encouraged by a continuing increase in housing affordability and a lower interest rate environment”, said Dennis Bice, Executive Retail, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank.
 
“We’re seeing some interesting trends around Australia that can assist in identifying properties that represent both value and the potential for growth.  There is solid growth in some parts of regional Queensland, South Australia and Central Victoria in particular.
 
“This stage in the property cycle is presenting some good opportunities in several Australian cities, particularly for those seeking to upgrade the family home. In other areas, buying may still be almost as affordable as renting.
 
“Home ownership, along with superannuation, is important in terms of helping to provide people with a secure retirement. 
 
‘’These results are promising for communities right across Australia, and we look forward to playing our part in helping people to achieve their financial goals”, concluded Mr Bice.

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General Manager of Adelaide Bank, Damian Percy said: “The number of first home buyers has continued to rise and rental affordability has also stabilised.  Compared to the September Quarter last year, we have now observed a 14.3% increase in new finance commitments to first home buyers, bringing this segment back up to almost 20% of all residential home buyers. 

“This is still quite a long way off the 30.8% level for first home buyers recorded in the June Quarter of 2009 but there are several factors that seem to be driving this growth.   Median weekly family income has also increased from the September Quarter in 2011 by around $250 per month.  

“The average loan size of new lending commitments is now at $320,542 and average monthly loan repayments are up slightly to $2,176, or $544 per week.  The current low interest rate environment is encouraging many people to re-visit and weigh up the ‘buy VS rent’ equation.    

“Certainly there are many desirable parts of Australia where it is now cheaper to buy and make loan repayments than it is to rent and around a fifth of all homebuyers are first home owners who have decided to come down on the ‘buy’ side of the equation”, Mr Percy concluded.   

Fast Facts

• Victoria recorded the largest improvement with the proportion of income required to meet loan repayments decreasing 4.4% compared to the September quarter 2011.
• The number of new finance commitments to first home buyers increased by 6.0% to 26,075 in the September quarter.
• Compared to the September quarter of the previous year, new finance commitments to first home buyers increased 14.3%.
• Compared to the same quarter of the previous year, housing affordability in the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory declined.
• Over the quarter, the number of loans to first home buyers increased in all states and territories with the exception of Queensland and the Northern Territory.
• Across the country New South Wales was the only state or territory to record a decrease in the number of new finance commitments to first home buyers. 
• During the quarter, first home buyers made up 19.0% of the market compared to 17.9% in the June quarter. 
  The REIA Home Loan Affordability Indicator (HLAI) is moving in the right direction.

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Ms Hey was previously CEO of Ericsson in the UK and in Australia. She worked with Ericsson for more than 20-years in finance, marketing, sales and leadership roles in Australia, Sweden, the UK and the Middle East.

She said she’s extremely pleased to be joining the Bank’s Board.

“When I think about Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, I think about its strong and trustworthy brand, its focus on customers, partners and communities and its ability to innovate,” Ms Hey said.

Chairman, Robert Johanson, said Ms Hey’s expertise lies within the technology, telecommunications, sales and marketing spheres – key drivers in the future success of any bank.

“Jacquie complements the existing skills and experiences of our directors and brings with her a very distinctive background,” Mr Johanson said.

Ms Hey added, “Coming from outside the banking and finance industry allows me to bring a different perspective to Board discussions, particularly around technology and how customers interact with it, how the bank can use technology to connect with its customers and how it can help customers in the future.”
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Mr Johanson said Ms Hey’s appointment brings the number of women on the Bank’s board to three. “Gender is one of a number of important criteria we look at to ensure the board has a wide experience in dealing with its business,” he said.
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Ms Hey commented, “I’ve been lucky enough to work with companies and people that have treated me fairly and with respect, and have evaluated me on my merits throughout my career. This is very important to me and I’m happy to have found it in Australia with Bendigo and Adelaide Bank.”
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Ms Hey will join the Bank’s Audit, Risk and Change Framework and Technology Governance Committees. She is the Honorary Consul of Sweden for Victoria and was appointed to the Board of the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) last week.

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Head of Wealth Markets, Alexandra Tullio, announced the appointments as part of what will be the continuing evolution of the new Bendigo Wealth division which was launched in April 2011, heralding an exciting new era in the evolution of the Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Group.

The new Bendigo Wealth division has been warmly received in the IFA market place and is playing an increasingly important role in helping our distribution partners meet the needs of their clients.

Part of this new focus has been to generate awareness of the broader banking and wealth solutions that the Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Group have on offer to the IFA market.

The new Bendigo Wealth division is fortunate in that there is a broad range of skills and resources across the Group from which to draw. “These new appointments are effective as of Monday 20 June and are pivotal in enabling the Distribution, Business Development and Manufacturing areas to deliver on expectations within the Bendigo Wealth division ”, Ms Tullio said.

New Regional Managers:

• Richard Brown, Regional Manager, WA/SA/VIC/TAS/NT. Richard joined the Bank in November 2006 in the role of National Sales Manager, WealthDeposits. For the past four years Richard has held the position of State Sales Manager, SA/NT – Wealth Distribution. Prior to joining the Bank, Richard worked in a variety of sales management, recruitment and operational roles with Hillross Financial, Colonial, Prudential, AMP and Hudson Global.
• Keith Hilsdon, Regional Manager, QLD/NSW/ACT. Keith has held manydiverse roles during his 27 years within the financial services industry,bringing funds management, financial markets, business strategy, credit assessment, training, business and retail banking experience to his role.

New Manufacturing roles:

• Darryl Drown, Senior Manager, Bendigo Wealth Manufacturing
• Gillian Carless, Senior Manager – Manufacturing.
• Julie McKay, Senior Manager – Technical and Research

New Business Development roles:

• Nick Jackson, Senior Business Development Manager (SBDM) in NewSouth Wales
• Nicola Thiel, Senior Business Development Manager (SBDM) in WesternAustralia

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