Partner Spotlight: Dean Burston (BCI Finance)

In 2016, Dean started BCI Finance Partners along with two other partners as a boutique entity specifically set up to cater to a broad range of both commercial and business finance solutions. Prior to entering the broker space, all partners at BCI Finance came from banking backgrounds.

Dean left the banking space to become a broker because he was looking to build more personal relationships with his clients and have the freedom to explore various finance solutions.

“There’s a lot less bureaucracy. As a broker, you have a much broader range of products and you can really help the client find exactly what they need for their situation, rather than being locked into a set selection products that you might have at a bank.”

Because BCI Finance Partners is set up as a boutique entity, it lets the partners focus on the client’s journey and building personal relationships, rather than just high volumes. Most of their clients tend to be small business owners, but BCI Finance Partners is set up to handle all kinds of finance solutions, including commercial and business banking finance, home loans, asset finance, cash flow finance and trade facilities.

BCI Finance Partners has a much more hands-on and personal relationship with their clients, as a result, they often foster longer-term partnerships with their clients.

“We have ongoing relationships with most of our clients. We’re not just here to write the loan but rather for any kind of financial advice they need.”

Dean became a Moula partner through College Capital. The partners at BCI Finance have a good relationship with the team at College Capital and when Moula came onto their panel they got to know the product.

“Coming from traditional banking backgrounds, we were initially a bit reluctant to use any alternative lender. But once we wrapped our heads around the product and company we were keen to get on board. The first thing we looked at was the rates, and in comparison to your competitors, Moula was really transparent. We looked through the calculator and the product was really clear and easy to understand.”

For many of Dean’s clients, the main driving factor when looking for something like a working capital loan is speed. This is what drove them to adopt Moula as a product offering and is one of the biggest benefits for their clients.

Because Moula’s product is built with business owners in mind, it works perfectly for his clients. More often than not, clients opt for Moula over a traditional bank because of the speed of the platform.

“Our clients are aware that the rates can sometimes be a bit higher than a bank’s, but they also know how long a bank will take. We factor this into our calculations and compare it to how immediate their need is, as well as what the potential loss in opportunity and profit would be if they waited – after all that, they usually opt for the faster option in Moula.”

As a broker, Dean has access to a range of finance product offerings in the market and can see a change in the landscape of the lending space. He thinks that while awareness and understanding of the non-bank sector are growing, there are still some misconceptions about the space.

“I think a lot of people wrongly place Moula in the same space as private and payday lenders, some of whom can be predatory. Moula has a lot more credentials and bona fide behind them. While people are definitely becoming more aware, I think they still don’t quite know where Moula fits in the marketplace, separate from both private lending and secured lending.”

Banks will always have a place in the wider financial landscape, but there is definitely a growing need for faster loan services, particularly for business owners.

“I think there’s definitely a movement away from traditional banks for things like working capital finance and smaller, short-term loans. A big part of that is due to the speed of the application and the fact that the loan isn’t tied to a client’s house.”

One of the great things about Moula’s Partner Program is that partners have complete control over their level of involvement in their client’s application. A partner has the freedom to be involved at every step of the application or simply refer their client and only be involved at key points of the application.

“As a broker, I didn’t have to be as involved as I usually am in the application. I was a bit surprised at first, but after I went through the process once and understood how it all works, I was very confident and comfortable with how it all operates.”

“I was most surprised with the speed of it all. You hear about how fast it is but until you actually go through the process with the client, you don’t realise just how quickly everything is processed. I was also surprised at how easy and seamless the application was. How the application is actually assessed is quite different from traditional lenders in terms of securities, net wealth, capital etc. This particularly appealed to a lot of my clients, especially the fact that their application is based on real business data rather than what property they can provide as security.”

“The first client we referred were wholesale retailers who sell motorbikes, quad-bikes and dirt-bikes in Whittlesea. They had been in business for ages and were looking to upgrade their accounting systems and fit out a whole new computer system. So for this type of client, if they went to a bank they would need a whole range of documents and statements – just a whole lot of hoops to jump through that would take ages. So we went to Moula and they were able to process the application quickly and easily using online business data.”

“Another client runs a couple of businesses, one is a day spa and the other is a cafe. The loan was for the cafe to purchase stock and equipment as well as to assist with day-to-day working capital requirements. They needed the funds pretty quickly and Moula was able to turn it around within days, rather than weeks or months at a bank.”