Wisr appoints former CBA head of customer risk to new role

Risk specialist Joanne Edwards is joining neo-lender Wiser to help the company deal with industry changes like Open Banking and Comprehensive Credit Reporting. The role, a new one for the organisation, will focus on credit risk optimisation and data analytics of Wiser's loan book and financial wellness ecosystem.

Edwards has more than 17 years of experience in credit risk management, most recently with CBA where she's been the head of customer risk since 2015. She specialises governance, credit, and operational risk management frameworks.

It was Edwards knowledge of the ever-shifting regulatory environment that most impressed Wiser CEO, Anthony Nantes. "This is a fantastic appointment and a real coup for Wisr", he said in a statement. "Joanne is a widely respected leader of multiple disciplines ranging from credit risk, product management through to data and analytics and strategic project delivery." He said the appointment is an exciting opportunity for the business, their stakeholders, and their customers.

Edwards says that access to credit is a fundamentally important issue in people's lives; that it can be life-changing. "Wisr's purpose-led model is completely different from anything that I've seen in the consumer lending space. Wisr's vision to bring financial wellness to all Australians by reinventing what a consumer lending company can be, really speaks to me."

Edwards will work closely with the COO, Mathew Lu, to maximise the company's data and analytics capabilities, as well as the scalability of the credit business. Nantes says he wants to do this without sacrificing the business': "strong adherence to compliance and responsible lending practices. 2020 will see substantial changes coming to the financial services space and Wisr is primed to take advantage of those changes while creating sustainable growth in line with risk appetite."