Resimac confirms 1st social bond in $1bn RMBS

As per Resimac Group (Resimac), $105 million of this dual-currency residential mortgage-backed securities transaction, coined the Bastille Trust Series 2022-1NC, is noted as A1, followed by US$215 million at A2, and $354 million at A3.

Further, up to roughly 89 per cent of this RMBS is expected to be rated as AAA under either the Fitch or the Standard & Poor’s rating systems.

The transaction follows a series of successful pricings made by the group in recent months. 

In March, Resimac settled the $1 billion Premier Series 2022-1 prime RMBS transaction it priced in September. 

During the 2021 financial year, the non-bank group issued $5.8 billion of Australian and New Zealand prime and specialist RMBS – $5.5 billion of which is in Australian dollars. 

However, as part of this latest RMBS deal, Resimac has stated that it will, for the first time, invest $35 million of this issue in social bonds. 

The non-bank has expressed in a statement that the purpose of this is to “help more first home buyers enter the housing market” via its high loan-to-value ratio product, Quickstart. 

Resimac has said that this act will make it the first Australian non-bank to offer a social bond. 

Resimac chief treasury officer Andrew Marsden said that this social bond offering is derived from the lender’s focus on providing products deemed both socially responsible and sustainable. 

“Resimac products like Quickstart help first home buyers with a small deposit access housing in under-served communities,” he said.

The pricing also comes in the wake of Resimac reporting a lift in its loan book over FY22. 

According to the group’s results for the first half of this financial year, its home loan book lifted year-on-year by 13 per cent, coming to a figure of $14.6 billion. 

Further, Resimac stated that it had reached $3.5 billion in settlements under the segment, marking a 63 per cent surge over the same 12-month period.

This growth reflected Resimac’s planned vision for growth, namely in technology. 

Late last year, during the group’s 2021 annual general meeting, chief executive Scott McWilliam revealed that the non-bank group would roll out a range of its technology to Australia, including the launch of its digital core banking system by the end of FY22. 

Mr McWilliam said to the shareholders that this was “just the start of an ongoing digital journey that we’re committed to for the long haul, whereby we continually evolve our business to remain relevant to our customers”.

[Related: Resimac confirms 2021 roll-out of digital loan origination system]