Suncorp to tap into its own client base

Suncorp Metway is taking the lead from other banks and will almost double planner numbers in coming months in an effort to capitalise on its 2.5 million customers.

Suncorp Metway is taking the lead from other banks and will almost double planner numbers in coming months in an effort to capitalise on its 2.5 million customers.

According to Bill Justo, manager of senior financial advisers with the Queensland based group, 40 new planners will be recruited in two phases, with the first round of hiring commencing in July. The re-maining 20 positions are due to be filled by December. This will bring planner numbers at the group to 95.

Justo says the planners will work within the bank branches, with the group aiming to have a planner in each branch by the end of the re-cruitment drive.

Suncorp Metway's general manager of life, superannuation and managed investments, Andrew Spicer, says that positioning planners within the branches is needed to exploit Suncorp Metway's existing bank customer base, much of which has not been offered financial planning services before.

"At the moment only six and a half per cent of our two and a half million customers have one of our life, superannuation or managed in-vestment products yet we hold number two position in terms of brand awareness in the Queensland life and super market," he says.

Justo agrees that there is an untapped market that up until now has not been fully capitalised on by the group, who five years ago only had life agents representing the financial advice part of Suncorp's business. He is confident that the demand for planning services will justify the appointments.

"The financial planners we're hiring won't be cold calling to drum up business," he says. "The clients are all sitting there waiting for them."