Westpac recently won three Gold awards in Money Magazine’s "Best of the Best 2007" Awards:

• Best Home Loan Package - Westpac Premier Advantage Package
• Best Featured Home Loan - Westpac Rocket Repay Home Loan
• Best Bank Rewards Program - Westpac Altitude Platinum

Westpac Financial Services Partnerships focuses on building relationships with Mortgage, Business and Equipment Finance brokers and our mandate is to build great business with our introducer partners.

Westpac Banking Corporation ABN 33 007 457 141

ValuePRO is the software platform of choice for property valuers around Australia.  Dozens of valuation firms and hundreds of users in every state of Australia use ValuePRO daily to deliver thousands of valuation reports to the mortgage industry.

A growing number of these reports are being delivered electronically using the LIXI standard.  ValuePRO has been pioneering the operational use of the LIXI standards in the valuation industry since 2006.  Starting with a pilot implementation involving Landmark White Residential, the Valuation Exchange and the Commonwealth Bank, today ValuePRO has been used to process tens of thousands of valuation and workflow packets between Valuers, Banks and third party valuation portals.

In 2008, ValuePRO will be focused on working with LIXI, the valuation and lending industry to improve ease of communication, improve the relevance of valuation services to lender’s needs and accelerate the loan application process.

ValuePRO Software Pty. Ltd, ABN  24 381 220 298

Thunderhead enables leading organizations to reduce their time to cash during the origination process and improve their service proposition over the life time of the customer. Our platform has enabled leading companies such as ANZ, ING Direct and Resimac to rapidly implement solutions that have provided process efficiencies and lead to improved customer retention. 

Thunderhead has supported LIXI for over 3 years and continues to enable the adoption of the standard while supporting historical processes.

Sandstone Technology is an Australian company that has been supplying specialist banking systems since 1996. The company’s core products are front-end Internet banking and lending systems providing fast, secure and reliable processing of new business applications and customer service requests. Sandstone also provides a property valuation management service that gives lenders online access to over 3,500 valuers at 140 valuation firms and over 400,000 pre-existing valuations.

Sandstone's LendFast Loan Origination system manages loan origination processing for mortgages, personal loans and credit cards. LendFast provides responsive and cost-effective application capture, credit scoring and decisioning through to settlement and funding.

The system enables consistent and high quality servicing of lending business across all distribution channels, including branches, brokers, the internet, call centre and the mobile sales force.

Sandstone is an IBM developer partner and an approved BPAY® and BPAYView® provider. Sandstone is also a full member LIXI and actively promotes open standards and connectivity.

As the Bank for all Australians, we are actively involved in the lives of more than half the population on a regular basis.

In the broker community we set industry standards in quality and provide our broker partners with unique initiatives.

In the broader community we support national literacy program for children; breast and prostate cancer research; rural community education through ‘On the Road’ initiative; the Clown Doctors foundation.

Our vision is to be finest financial institution excelling in customer service, and we share our values of great service and excellence with the whole community.

APIR is the identification and coding agency for the financial services industry and its codes and directories provide confidence and trust to the complex business and technical relationships that define the industry.

It has been the wealth management industry standard since 1998 and the International Security Identification Numbering (ISIN) agency for Australian collective investment vehicles (CIV) since 2004. Since 2002 APIR has also provided the Superannuation Product Identification Number for use by the industry, ATO and banking and payments processing industry.

APIR currently identifies and codes over 240 fund managers, approximately 15,000 managed funds and superannuation trusts, 15,000 financial planners,  600 superannuation trustees and 400 life insurance products.

APIR has a history of working closely with all stakeholders including Government, Industry Associations, organizations and individuals to create whole of industry solutions. We are now looking forward to working in a similar manner with the mortgage and finance industry.

Established in 1974, the Stargate Group is one of the most respected names in the Australian mortgage industry.  Having first pioneered the non-bank wholesale lending market, Executive Chairman Vernon Spencer helped change the Australian mortgage landscape forever by creating Interstar Securities Australia Pty Ltd in the early 1990.  Since selling Interstar to Challenger Financial Services in 2003, the Stargate Group has evolved into the premier mortgage services support enterprise in the nation. Aiming to provide excellence in mortgage support services, Stargate now offers leading IT solutions, innovative loan administration services and online industry information, under a stable of recognised brands.

Symmetry, Starworks, Lending Central, WorldOriginate and smartVAL represent a diverse range of support solutions, catering to every segment of the mortgage market. Stargate Group services bank and non-bank lenders, brokers and mortgage managers, valuers, aggregators, settlement service providers and credit providers.

The Technology Services division was one of the first to build IT and software systems specifically and exclusively for the Australian mortgage markets.  Technology Services specialise in four key IT areas:  Automated loan underwriting systems (WorldOriginate), Loan Origination Software (Symmetry), Valuation Management Software (smartVAL), and Online Mortgage Industry Information (Lending Central).

The Portfolio Services division provides outsourced Loan Application Processing, post-settlement Portfolio Servicing, Back-up Servicing and tailor made solutions to brokers, mortgage managers, originators and lenders across the nation.  By providing expert staff and specialised processing infrastructure, Stargate delivers significant time and cost savings in mortgage administration To solidify the belief in our services, November 2005 saw a world first, when the Starworks service was awarded an “Above Average” Residential Loan (Application Processing) Servicer Evaluation ranking by the prestigious Standard & Poor’s rating agency.

Microsoft was founded in 1975 with a dream of helping people realise their true potential through technology. That vision has ultimately changed how people around the world communicate, work, learn and play.

Our relationship with millions of Australians extends from the home to the office and our technology is fundamental to people working in business, government and the community.

Our local operation started in 1983 with only 20 people. Since then, Microsoft Australia has grown to a staff of more than 700 working in capital cities across Australia, as well as ninemsn (a PBL and Microsoft joint venture) and Microsoft's Home and Entertainment Division, which includes the Xbox business.

Microsoft technology plays a key role in today's Australia – from local community groups, to remote and higher educational institutions, all levels of government, big and small business and the thinkers and entrepreneurs who will ensure our future. We were also a proud partner of the 2006 Commonwealth Games. All these partnerships are designed with a common goal: to help all Australians achieve their best. Here's more information on our local initiatives.

Three discussion topics have already been chosen - we want you to come up with the fourth! Submit your discussion topic idea for a chance to win a 5 night holiday for two to Fiji - kindly provided by PMI Mortgage Insurance, The Outrigger on the Lagoon Fiji and Fiji Island Tours.

Outrigger on the Lagoon are pleased to provide 5 nights accommodation in a Superior Resort View Room (conditions apply). Airfares for two people will be provided by PMI Mortgage Insurance and Fiji Island Tours. The LIXI Board will select a winner from the submissions and the Blue Sky discussion panel will assess the idea with the author and audience.