Firstmac completes $500m RMBS issue

The Firstmac Mortgage Funding Trust Series 2-2016 was successfully placed and priced in a deal arranged by Westpac Institutional Bank, and jointly led by ANZ and NAB. Singapore-based DBS Bank acted as co-manager of the transaction.

James Austin, chief financial officer at Firstmac, said the success of the deal reflected the confidence of major institutional investors in the quality of the lender’s loan book, its tough credit policies and its effective self-regulation.

“The RMBS market is functioning well, but spreads are wider than six months ago and investors remain relatively cautious,” he said.

“Despite this, we have been able to tap the market at a narrower-than-usual gap to the majors due to institutional support for our high-quality book, tight credit policies, and continued lending discipline.”

The transaction takes Firstmac’s RMBS issuance to more than $16 billion since 2003. Its most recent deals were a $500 million issue in November 2015 and $1 billion issue in May 2015.

[Related: Firstmac receives top rating for RMBS]