Social media leads to multi-million dollar loans

Non-bank commercial property finance group Chifley Securities has tapped social media and the deep pockets of its half-dozen high-wealth backers to expand its balance sheet from about A$480 million to around $760 million - with a particular focus on borrowers that the banks are declining.

Chifley Securities, set up last year with an initial pool of $480 million, is using a combination of new technologies, such as harnessing the power of cloud computing, and old-fashioned "gut feelings" to run credit analysis.

The firm was launched to filling a niche in the market by basing its lending decisions on the existing asset values, risk profile and prospects of the projects being financed.

One of its founders, Dominic Lambrinos, said many loans had been made as, essentially, low doc loans, as such lending decisions become too hard for banks to make.

Finance broker, Glynn Bruce of Chifley Securities, has built up a LinkedIn page with 2,500 followers and a database of 5,500 people.

He has written more than $11 million worth of loans through LinkedIn since Chifley Securities' launch late last year, as more borrowers seek alternative financing for their property and business projects.  Bruce cited a recent $6.7 million refinancing deal than took just nine says to set up at the rate of 11 per cent through the use of the technology.

The use of social media as a lead generator is backed up by Chifley Securities' simplified online financing application process.