Profile
“I’m so proud to see that through my hard work and that of my team, we have built trust with our industry partners”
Victoria Coster,
Credit Fix Solutions
Michelle Bannister is the director and head of distribution for the real estate credit division at La Trobe Financial. She has over 20 years of experience in financial services and is widely recognised for her extensive knowledge and understanding of the mortgage industry.
Bannister has won several awards throughout her career, including the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) Excellence Award for BDM of the Year in 2014 and 2015. She has also been awarded Aggregator BDM for Commercial Finance in 2016, 2018 and 2019.
Bannister is responsible for leading the La Trobe Financial national sales team and is regarded as a changemaker for women working in finance.
333 Collins Street, Melbourne
+61 408 566 518
mbannister@latrobefinancial.com.au
linkedin.com/in/michelle-bannister-12442431
latrobefinancial.com.au
Michelle Bannister
Director – Head of Distribution
La Trobe Financial
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Bio
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Profile
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Bio
Milestones
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Bio
Milestones
“I’m genuinely keen to keep bettering myself”
Victoria Coster,
Credit Fix Solutions
1996
2006
2010
2014–2015
2019–2021
Joined La Trobe Financial
1996
Promoted to Head of Credit
2006
Promoted to Senior Manager, Client Partnerships
2010
MFAA BDM of the Year
2014–
2015
2019: Promoted to Head of Distribution
2021: Promoted to Director
2019-2021
Assistant Vice President and Senior Broker at MJ Hall & Company since 2018
Present
Milestones
Aug 2022
Milestones
Sept 2021
Feb 2022
Apr 2022
Jul 2022
Aug
2022
Suncorp Bank introduces Solar Home Bonus offer for customers who are choosing renewable energy for their homes
Sept 2021
Month-on-month market share growth commences
Feb 2022
Suncorp Bank wins the Canstar award for most outstanding value in investment loans
Apr 2022
Suncorp Bank wins Money Magazine’s Bank of the Year and Business Bank of the Year awards for the fifth year in a row
Jul 2022
Suncorp Bank’s turnaround times are the lowest they have ever been. The lender becomes Australia’s first certified carbon neutral bank for both its operation and transaction services
Aug 2022
Milestones
Coster brings depth and breadth of experience to her current position, having joined the industry as a mortgage processor before leaping into broking. She later honed her credit reporting education and credit repair skills for several years while working directly for various brokers.
“Starting Credit Fix Solutions was a deliberate move, as I saw there was a niche in ‘no win, no fee’ credit repair that the industry didn’t currently offer,” she says.
As a CEO, Coster learned through business coaching that there are no challenges in business, only opportunities to learn and grow. She wholeheartedly adopted that perspective, enabling her to overcome the obstacles inherent in team management and implement new and improved systems. She employs several strategies for challenging situations, such as following routines, forward planning, sleeping well and exercising.
“If I make sure I look after myself, have a plan of action, and I’m organised, then I can overcome any challenge (opportunity to learn) if and when it presents itself,” Coster says.
A firm believer in the power of leadership, Coster strives to set an example that the next generation of women and men can look up to. She prides herself on her reliability and trustworthiness and is the first person to show up and the last to leave the workplace.
“I’m genuinely keen to keep bettering myself,” she says. “Even now, at the top of my game, I’m still always learning.”
Guided by her favourite quote, “It’s better to be green and growing than ripe and rotting”, Coster constantly stokes her curiosity and keeps an open mind about life and business. Her kindness, positive attitude, business acumen and dedication to her profession make her a trusted and valuable partner to her peers and the mortgage industry.