About 30%-35% of MTF’s lending is now to businesses and chief executive Chris Lamers believes there is potential for that figure to hit 40%-50%.
The amount of business lending had been increasing over the last few years and Mr Lamers said there were several drivers for that.
The world of finance was feeling more complex to people; there was such volatility in interest rates, people were having to understand more about the likes of the Official Cash Rate and how loans worked.
They had a lot more on their minds about finance and their own financial situations at a time when there had been a pulling back of personal and local support from many financial services organisations, he said.
MTF had bucked that trend, increasing the number of offices it had around the country. People liked the fact they could pick up the phone and talk through a loan with someone and on-the-spot decisions could be made.
SMEs needed support — there had been a large number of businesses placed in liquidation in recent times — and MTF was focusing on that sector as a core strength.
“I think there’s really large untapped demand,” Mr Lamers said.
The North Island had been harder hit than the South Island and Auckland and Wellington had been harder hit than the regions. The lower South Island, including Invercargill, Dunedin and Queenstown, was “doing pretty well”, he said.
There were a lot of businesses doing “incredible work” in Dunedin, while the farming sector was starting to spend money again on the back of improved prices.
MTF planned to keep investing in its products to improve its offering even further for small businesses, he said.
sally.rae@odt.co.nz
