YBR restructures, aims further at wealth


Yellow Brick Road (YBR) has undertaken a restructure as it seeks to build further on its wealth management business by driving further into its mortgage customer base.
The restructure has been announced by YBR executive chairman, Mark Bouris, who described it as a "timely integration" 18 months after YBR's acquisition of Vow Financial.
Dealing specifically with the company's plans for its wealth management business, Bouris said the company's ambition was to "dramatically accelerate our wealth activities using the foundation of our strong distribution platform".
He said this would be achieved by increasing the volume of mortgage customers who are given wealth management advice and products, "whilst ensuring innovation in our wealth offerings and a significant expansion of our wealth providers across Australia".
Under the restructure, the business has two key units - wealth and lending - with wealth being led by Vow Financial boss, Matt Lawler who becomes CEO Wealth, while lending continues to be run by Tim Brown who becomes CEO, Lending. Sitting across both areas will be an operational unit led by Scott Graham as Chief Commercial Officer.
Bouris said the wealth and lending businesses had begun working more closely but the restructure represented the next step to achieve some big company-wide goals in the coming years in pursuit of becoming the leading non-bank financial service company in Australia.
He said key medium-term deliverables included a $100 billion loan book by 2020, 30 per cent wealth clients by 2020, and 300 branded branches and 1,000 broker groups by 2020.
"Our intention in 2016 is to double down on our wealth activities and maintain the momentum in our lending businesses," Bouris said.
"As a result I have re-appointed our current CEOs portfolios to align with the two business units and reflect their individual expertise and strengths."
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