Last night at Crown Melbourne, the 2023 MFAA National Excellence Awards were held, recognising the outstanding achievements of top performers in the mortgage and finance broking industry.
Awards were presented in 24 categories and the MFAA also honoured John Macalyk, one of the association’s founding members, with a MFAA Life Membership.
Hosted by actor and singer Tim Campbell, who starred on Home and Away, local band Craig Francis Music serenaded the audience while more than 100 finalists waited nervously to see if their name would be called out.
The national awards represent the pinnacle of recognition after five state MFAA Excellence Awards ceremonies were held in June, attended by more than 1,500 MFAA members and industry partners from across the country.
MFAA CEO Anja Pannek (pictured above left) said the Excellence Awards recognised and celebrated members who had excelled in areas including customer service, professionalism, ethics, growth and innovation.
“The MFAA Excellence Awards shine a spotlight on our members and the incredible work they do with their clients every day,” Pannek said. “I congratulate all our winners, finalists and our newest Life Member for their achievements, it’s been wonderful to celebrate their success and watch them receive the attention they deserve.”
Xavier Quenon (pictured above far left) from Go Mortgage took out the coveted Regional Finance Broker Award, while Mark Davis (pictured above centre right) from The Australian Lending & Investment Centre won the Residential Finance Broker Award.
Joint winners of the Young Professional Award were Ashleigh Pakis (pictured above centre left) from Panache Financial and Morgan Owen (pictured above far right) from Penny Finance while James Brett from Truly Finance won the Newcomer Award.
Ryan Baddock (pictured below) from RB Finance demonstrated excellence in asset classes other than mortgage broking, winning the Commercial & Equipment Finance Award.
In other categories, Birdie Wealth won the Finance Broker Business Award, while Bankwest (Non-Major Lender Award), Macquarie Bank (Major Lender Award), Pepper Money (Speciality Lender Award) and Mortgage Choice (Diversity and Inclusion Award) were also recognised.
Sponsored by Australian Broker, ubank won the Fintech Lender Award after a clean sweep across all state awards.
Sponsors for the awards include Australian Broker, sister publication MPA magazine, ANZ, BOQ, Commonwealth Bank, CoreLogic, Helia, La Trobe Financial, Macquarie Bank, ME Bank, Mortgage Choice, National Australia Bank, Prospa, QBE, Teachers Mutual Bank Limited, and ubank.
The MFAA said the awards were audited by accounting firm Hall Chadwick and were judged equally based on excellence and professionalism across all areas of business.
The 2023 MFAA National Excellence Awards winners are as follows:
- Aggregator Award: AFG
- Business Development Manager Award – Aggregator: Shelley Tetlaw, Loan Market
- Business Development Manager Award – Lender/Support Service Provider: Sally Hillman, St.George Bank
- Commercial & Equipment Finance Broker Award: Ryan Baddock, RB Finance
- Community Champion Award: TAG Finance Australia
- Customer Service Award – Business: UFinancial
- Customer Service Award – Individual: Lee Barron, Fox Financial Solutions
- Diversified Business Award: IQ Finance for IQ Capital Group
- Diversity and Inclusion Award: Mortgage Choice
- Finance Broker Business Award: Birdie Wealth
- Fintech Lender Award: ubank
- Loan Administrator Award: Tania Richardson, Loan Market Ellenbrook
- Major Lender Award: Macquarie Bank
- Mortgage Manager Award: Mortgage Ezy
- Mutual/Credit Union Lender Award: Heritage Bank
- Newcomer Award: James Brett, Truly Finance
- Non-Major Lender Award: Bankwest
- Professional Development Award: Broker Ideas Group
- Regional Finance Broker Award: Xavier Quenon, Go Mortgage
- Residential Finance Broker Award: Mark Davis, The Australian Lending & Investment Centre
- Specialty Lender Award: Pepper Money
- Support Service Provider Award – Large Company: ALI Group
- Support Service Provider Award – Small Company: Broker Ideas Group
- Young Professional Award: Ashleigh Pakis, Panache Financial and Morgan Owen, Penny Finance
