The big banks are closing branches in regional Australia. Elders is opening them.

Recorded live at Growth Summit, LMG's National Head of Enterprise Partners, Mark Montalto sits down with Steve Gibson, Head of Elders Finance, to unpack how one of Australia's most recognised brands is growing, pivoting and protecting what it's built over 187 years, and what every broker can take away for their own brand.

It's a candid conversation about compliance, culture, acquisitions and why trust in regional communities is harder to win than any deal.

In this episode, you'll hear:

• Why Elders walks away from profitable acquisitions if they don't fit the "One Elders" standard

• How the retreat of major banks from country towns is creating a genuine opportunity for brokers

• The one thing that can destroy years of brand-building overnight

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Show notes: 

01:25 Steve shares the 187-year history of Elders and how the finance arm evolved from a banking licence to a brokerage

02:14 The deliberate two-year pivot into agri and commercial finance, and why it happened

03:49 What "One Elders" means and how it shapes every acquisition decision

05:49 How the retreat of major banks from regional Australia is creating an opportunity for Elders

07:23 Why compliance is the non-negotiable at the heart of brand protection

09:39 The role of agri finance relationship managers and why trust in farming communities matters more than volume

11:15 Steve's advice for any broker building their own brand from scratch