Lender completes $1bn RMBS deal

Firstmac's $1 billion transaction was successfully placed and priced in a deal arranged by ANZ and jointly led by Westpac Institutional Bank, nabSecurities and JP Morgan.

A total of 22 investors participated in the transaction, including 16 real-money accounts.

Firstmac chief financial officer James Austin said the market acceptance of the lender’s largest RMBS deal had been exceptional.

“To achieve a result of this size demonstrates [that] Firstmac’s strategy of financing high-quality loans online has gained significant traction,” he said.

Mr Austin said Firstmac’s solid history of successful RMBS deals had fostered investor interest for more than a decade.

“The Firstmac bonds have been well received by an investor market keen to take up an offering with a strong track record,” he said.

“Firstmac has demonstrated its ability to innovate and create opportunity in the home loan sector through the use of technology to capture market share from more traditional bricks-and-mortar lenders.”

Mr Austin said it was the growing strength of Firstmac’s online retail brand, loans.com.au, that helped the lender achieve record-breaking RMBS deals.

“Loans.com.au has set some records of its own in recent months, with loan applications doubling and settlements outstripping previous peaks,” Mr Austin said.

“The online lending model is very effective: it’s convenient for customers who prefer to do business online, and it is efficient in terms of overheads.”

Firstmac has issued more than $13 billion in RMBS since 2003.