Our Chief Executive Officer, Mr Chris Elder, was a recent guest on ANC's Early Edition live broadcast. In the segment, Chris sat down with Early Edition host Michelle Ong to talk through how Nook is changing the housing loan industry in the Philippines, and to share his general thoughts on the local market.
What the conversation covered
The discussion centred on the problem Nook was built to solve: applying for a home loan in the Philippines has traditionally meant queuing at branches, filling in paperwork for one bank at a time, and chasing updates with no easy way to compare options. Nook set out to make that process simple by acting as a mortgage broker — comparing banks on the borrower's behalf and matching each Filipino family to the lender that best fits their needs.
How Nook works
Nook is the Philippines' original and award-winning mortgage broker, on a mission to help Filipino families buy their own home. Rather than asking borrowers to approach lenders one by one, Nook does the entire home loan application for them: a dedicated loan consultant compares 20+ banks, finds the best-fit lender, and runs the paperwork, follow-ups and bank communication from the first enquiry through to approval.
That done-for-you model means customers never have to fill in bank forms or visit a branch to follow up. Because Nook's partner banks pay a commission once a loan is released, the service is 100% free to the borrower. Filipinos can pre-qualify online in about three minutes, then let their consultant take over the rest of the process.
Growing since the broadcast
The vision Chris Elder described on Early Edition — making home loans simple by comparing banks for the borrower — is exactly how Nook works today. The service now covers new home loans, refinancing, home equity, construction, improvement and acquisition financing for house and lot, condo, townhouse, vacant lot and apartment purchases, and it supports OFWs applying from abroad as well as borrowers based in the Philippines.
Since this early media coverage, Nook has grown into a full-service brokerage and has been Awarded Best Mortgage Broker Philippines by Pan Finance, recognising its work modernising the way Filipinos access home loans.
Watch the segment on YouTube. Originally published 13 February 2020.