Q&A: “We believe in the power of partnerships”
In the old days, Stater provided mortgage back-office services; today it is the leading end-to-end mortgage service provider in the Benelux region, operating across the mortgage value chain with deep capabilities in digital origination, servicing, and collection. We asked Erwin Dreuning, CEO of Stater N.V., to elaborate on the company’s growth strategy going forward.
First of all, what does your environment look like?
“Amidst an evolving mortgage landscape, BPO has moved up the value chain, with end customers demanding an outstanding 24/7 customer service delivery and with originators (banks, insurers, originate to distribute parties) and intermediaries in a director’s role requiring a tailored and targeted approach. The main drivers behind this are changing consumer behaviour, ongoing digitisation of the value chain, and ever-evolving regulatory requirements – all of these reinforcing each other and accelerating digital transformation.
“The interesting thing is that regulatory challenges are proving to be a powerful stimulus for further innovation, enhanced flexibility, and cost awareness for us. As digitisation keeps impacting all elements of the value chain, as a company we’re moving towards a platform-based business model and an extensive partner ecosystem.”
How important are partnerships for Stater?
“We believe in the power of partnerships. As always, our goal is to build true long-lasting business partnerships with clients while matching their evolving needs. Both the client and Stater invest in the relationship to realise the best result, each concentrating on what they do best. Our focus is on facilitating client needs and striking a good balance while doing so. A good balance between being a robust system integrator and being a direct digital mortgage service provider, between converting mortgage portfolios and acting like a nimble fintech on the intersection of banking and technology, between legacy IT and new technologies. And all of this based on our vision that we are the most cost-efficient solution.”
What does your growth strategy look like?
“Our growth strategy has always been forward-looking and is focused on euro-denominated markets. In the past few months, next to our strategy in The Netherlands, we’ve developed an elaborate business plan for the German and Belgian markets.”
“Germany is Europe's economic engine that presents huge opportunities for a robust end-to-end mortgage service provider like Stater. We will move forward by understanding and listening to our (potential) clients’ business and their needs, and by respecting the German culture, language, and national identity as well as understanding the (legal) differences. We have a market entry strategy and road map that we plan to implement, step-by-step, in early 2021.
In Belgium, we are already present with our joint venture Stater Belgium. Here, we also have a strategic roadmap to extend our services to existing and new clients.”
“Our growth strategy is clear. We are well known for our innovative digital approach, and customer-centric culture which facilitates this strategy. Stater is partly owned by ABN AMRO Group NV, but also by one of the largest and best IT/BPO companies in the world, Infosys Limited. By leveraging our joint capabilities, we can deliver the mortgage service solutions our clients ask for, tailored to their needs.”