Hong Kong-backed lender launches home loans

BC Securities has launched a suite of mortgage products with a focus on non-residents, self-managed super fund (SMSF) borrowers and Australians who rely on overseas incomes. The company also offers a range of mortgage products from a panel of local lenders including the major banks and building societies.

The Melbourne-based group is owned by its Australian management team and Far East Consortium, a Hong Kong-listed real estate group with a market cap of $1.5 billion (HK$9.3 billion) and real estate projects across the globe.

In a product summary provided by the company, BC Securities describes itself as both a credit provider and a mortgage broker. The company holds an AFSL and ACL.

Speaking to Mortgage Business, BC Securities managing director David Hinde explained that the group has received a $650 million tranche to begin funding, with plans to scale the business through broker distribution.

Mr Hinde said: “There are lots of gaps that have opened up with tighter credit policies announced by banks and non-banks. We don’t have any postcode restrictions. We look at every building on its own merit.”

BC Securities' mortgage range includes four products for both investors and owner-occupiers with LVRs ranging from 50 per cent to 70 per cent. Some products are designed specifically for apartments while others finance the construction phase of a house and land purchase, which converts to a standard home loan once the construction is complete. Rates range from 6.8 per cent to 7.8 per cent.

“We are real estate-focused investors. The house and land stuff is interesting because there seems to be a lot of foreign buyers who have been left without the ability to fund the construction component of their homes,” Mr Hinde said.

“We have a first tranche warehouse with a total capacity of $650 million provided by an overseas bank. We want to build the business beyond.

"There is a big part of the broker market that has been left out in the cold when the lenders turned off the tap. It is hard for them when they are trying to service clients and, all of a sudden, the product is not available anymore.”

The group is in discussions with aggregators, mortgage managers and individual brokers who hold their own ACL.

“We are not closing the door on any part of the market,” Mr Hinde said, adding that the company is also in talks with a number of parties about white-labelling its products.

“Our team has helped hundreds of purchasers and we are experts in finding solutions, particularly for non-residents of Australia,” the MD said.

BC Securities will lend from $150,000 up to a maximum amount of $900,000.

[Related: Chinese investment flows 'decrease markedly']