Why more mortgage brokers outsource to the Philippines

Trying to grow and scale a broking business has its challenges and risks. The industry is very reliant on positive economic conditions and a confident lending environment; both of which, as we have seen in recent times, can change quickly. Add to this the fact many mortgage brokers are single operators and it becomes apparent there are some clear business growth challenges in relation to scale and risk.  

Outside of obtaining investment to grow (which has its own risks), solutions to the scale and risk challenges are hard to find within Australia’s high cost, highly regulated environment. So, if the solutions cannot be found within Australia, it makes sense for brokers to look elsewhere.

In this blog I will cover:

1. Why The Philippines is the best loan processing outsourcing location in The World

2. How Technology and Security advances have made working with mortgage broker virtual assistants incredibly easy

3. Why outsourcing to The Philippines makes good business sense

1. Why The Philippines is the best loan processing outsourcing location in The World

• 9 hour flight from Sydney
• Same time zone as Perth
• English speaking, University educated population
• Significantly lower cost of living; Approximately 70% lower employment costs when compared to Australia
• Economically viable, Philippines Government supported outsourcing industry
• World class technology and internet infrastructure

Need more reasons? Read our CEO’s post on the Top 5 reasons to outsource to The Philippines.

Did you know? Macquarie, ANZ, Citibank and others have massive operations in The Philippines.

If it’s good enough for the banks, surely it’s good enough for brokers?

2. How Technology and Security advances have made working with mortgage broker virtual assistants incredibly easy

Working with a Philippines-based mortgage broker virtual assistant is exactly the same as working with someone in your office. You can still email them, talk to them on the phone, collaborate on documents, instant message them, SMS them, talk to them face to face etc. The only thing you cannot do is physically sit with them, but how often do we do that in the office these days anyway?

It’s not 1999 anymore, Web conferencing technology is now ridiculously cost effective, reliable and great quality. The internet has come along in leaps and bounds and The Philippines has significantly better network infrastructure than Australia.

Cloud computing now means no clunky onsite servers and no more client-server based applications. People can easily log on from anywhere in The World provided they have a computer and internet connection.

Security measures have come a very long way too. As an example, check out Beepo’s Finance Industry, triple layered security:

• 24/7 onsite security
• Biometric scanners
• CCTV throughout
• No personal recording devices
• BeepoSecure (Password management, IP lockdown etc)  

Do you want to know more about how technology makes working with remote teams easy? Check out this blog on 7 tools everyone with offshore staff should be using.

3. Why outsourcing to The Philippines makes good business sense

Growing a Mortgage Broker business can be difficult. Often brokers start off on their own and struggle to make enough profit to have a comfortable lifestyle, let alone taking a punt on cutting into that profit to hire some help to write more loans. A quick look on seek.com.au shows a Sydney based Loan Processor earns about $50K per year.

Add to that $50k salary on costs such as:

• Office space
• Desk
• Chair
• Computer
• Internet
• Phone
• Superannuation
• Overtime
• Recruitment costs
• Training overheads
• Etc, Etc, Etc

$50k becomes $100k very quickly.

Did you know in The Philippines you can hire an English speaking, University educated person for around $25k per year INCLUDING all of the above oncosts + Onsite office management, security and pre-commencement training.

Cost savings aside, a Philippines-based outsourcing strategy can also help you manage the risks associated with business growth. Most outsourcing providers allow you to cancel your engagement with them with very little notice, so if you find you are not writing enough business to support your growth plans, you can dial down your outsourced team quickly and cost-effectively. Conversely, if you find business is going gangbusters and you need more help you can easily grow your outsourced team.  

In short, you can cost-effectively scale up your business’s resourcing, so you can write more loans and have someone else complete the mundane, repeatable, process-driven tasks.

By now you probably want to know more about Outsourcing to The Philippines and how it can help you grow and scale your Mortgage Broking business. Why not check out our 5 part Education Series which covers everything you need to know to get started.