AOFM to invest $30m in Wisr warehouse

The federal government announced the Structured Finance Support Fund (SFSF) in March as a $15-billion investment fund to enable smaller lenders to continue to lend to small businesses and individual customers throughout the coronavirus pandemic.

The government provided the Australian Office of Financial Management (AOFM) with the funds to invest in structured finance markets often used by smaller lenders that provide consumer and business finance.

The $30.8 million investment in neo-lender Wisr’s warehouse will be alongside existing senior and mezzanine financiers, and will support the Wisr warehouse up to $200 million.

The fund is approved by the delegate under the Structured Finance Support (Coronavirus Economic Response Package) Act 2020, and is subject to the finalisation of legal documentation.

Wisr chief financial officer Andrew Goodwin said the neo-lender welcomes the AOFM investment in its warehouse, which would support its goal to “deliver fairly priced credit to everyday Australians”, alongside its financial wellness products.

“The Wisr warehouse continues to perform strongly and well within portfolio parameters,” Mr Goodwin said.

The AOFM recently announced that it had approved a maximum investment of $90 million into a Prospa Group warehouse trust through the SFSF, while it announced in April that it intends to invest the first tranche of $250 million in securities issued by a warehouse vehicle sponsored by Judo Bank.

In its quarterly SFSF update released this week, the AOFM reported that as at 30 June, total investments and commitments for the SFSF were just over $2.7 billion.

Since the launch of the SFSF in March, the AOFM has made primary market investments in Firstmac and RedZed, secondary investments in La Trobe, Resimac, Columbus Capital, Pepper and Bluestone, and a combination of both in Liberty Financial.

It has also made warehouse investments in Judo Bank, Latitude Financial, Athena Home Loans and Columbus Capital, among other lenders.

[Related: ACCC expands SFSF administration]

Malavika Santhebennur is the features editor on the mortgages titles at Momentum Media.

Before joining the team in 2019, Malavika held roles with Money Management and Benchmark Media. She has been writing about financial services for the past six years.