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ISCOVER
Jessica Darnbrough
Macquarie has highlighted itself as a bank to watch after the lender bought a 19.84 per cent stake in Homeloans.
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Earlier this week, an announcement on the ASX website revealed Macquarie had bought a 19.84 per cent stake in Homeloans from Challenger at a cost of over $20 million.
The purchase isn’t Macquarie’s first foray into mortgage origination, with the lender acquiring an 8.3 per cent stake in Yellow Brick Road in December last year.
The acquisition follows Macquarie’s decision to enter a funding agreement with Yellow Brick Road in order to offer discounted mortgages to clients.
At the time the funding agreement was established, Yellow Brick Road’s chief executive Matt Lawler said Macquarie Bank “doesn’t just represent a strong partner in mortgages; it is the broader banking offering and wealth management proposition which is of interest to us – there is considerable potential for them to support us in other areas.”
Speaking to The Adviser, Homeloans chairman Tim Holmes said he was also hopeful that Macquarie’s recent purchase would spell big things for the mortgage originator.
“We did not know that the purchase was happening, but we think it is a good fit,” he said.
“Challenger has not been involved in the mortgage business for some time, so while they were happy with us, I don’t think it was a good fit. We are hopeful that Macquarie will work with us to help improve the business.”
Mr Holmes said he is set to meet with Macquarie next week to discuss the purchase and what it means for both companies.
The Adviser contacted Macquarie for comment, but the bank said it was unable to speak about the topic.
