The direct savings bank, a division of ING Bank, has appointed Mark Woolnough as head of third party distribution to encompass the sales and service support functions of the financial planning and broker teams.
The move supports the bank's overall approach to the advice industry as it continues to converge, ING Direct executive director of distribution Lisa Claes said, adding that the business intended to take a more holistic approach to banking and wealth management to align with the changes already seen among many key aggregator partners and dealer groups.
"While there will always be room for specialisation, I have long been an advocate for the benefits of convergence, be it a co-branded, fully integrated or a referral business model, as well as the vertical integration of banking and wealth," she said.
"This new service structure reflects how we intend to capitalise on this trend for the benefit of our customers and third party distributors, which continues to gather momentum."
She said the changes would provide ING DIRECT with the capability to service the broader financial needs of its customers and would also benefit the bank through economies of scale by leveraging internal synergies and broader geographical access to all third parties.
ING DIRECT's combined third party distribution teams had commenced training on both wealth and mortgage products that were offered through financial advisers and brokers, the company said.
Their technical knowledge would be complemented by continual investment in building sales capabilities that would benefit all third party partners.
The new structure was piloted through WA and SA business development managers and will now be rolled out nationally.
