BDM in the spotlight: John Kakakios

ANZ’s John Kakakios just won the Australian BDM of the Year at the AMAs

BDM in the spotlight: John Kakakios

ANZ’s John Kakakios just won the Australian BDM of the Year at the AMAs
"I’ve been working in the finance industry for over 18 years and started my career booking in home loan and discharge settlements on an excel spreadsheet…"

BDM in the spotlight asks a different BDM the same questions – giving you a weekly insight into the lives of some of the top BDMs in the country.

How often do you see brokers in a week?
I tend to get out and see 10-15 brokers each week. This gives me a good mix of face to face, as well as being available on phone and email. 

What do broker want most from you?
To be responsive! Answer your phone and email in a timely manner. A broker’s business is an integral part of my business, and my role as a BDM is to make our process as seamless as possible. There are a lot of products and policies that differentiate between each lender and it’s important that our brokers receive accurate information to assess the viability of a transaction from the outset.

What is your favourite part of the job?
I think what I love most is providing a solution to a complex situation. The BDM is the first port of call for our brokers and it is my role to be up-to-date with both regulatory and ANZ changes. Training and development is an integral part of our role to ensure continuous improvement of our Broker partners which results in quality submissions.

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What distinguished the best brokers you deal with?
Broker business’ with robust processes in place. The level of detail and structure of an enquiry makes it easy to qualify the transaction and provide an immediate response rather than going back and forth drip feeding information.

Describe your ideal weekend.
I really look forward to spending time with my family, particularly my beautiful 2 year old daughter.

What’s the strangest lending scenario you’ve ever encountered?
I’ve had an extremely complex structure where various companies and trusts were spread across 2 A3 sheets of paper…

How do you like your steak done?
Medium rare

Every Wednesday we’ll feature a different BDM from across Australia. If you’d like to be included, please email the editor.