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A new product suite from the lender to support a diverse range of borrowers has become available through the third-party channel.
Non-bank lender Athena has announced the launch of a suite of products that aims to support a range of borrowers, including those who are self-employed.
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Athena has launched its Self Employed Lite Doc and 80–85 per cent, no lenders mortgage insurance (LMI) products, which are available to brokers from today.
Both products have become available to brokers via the lender’s aggregator partnerships with LMG and Mortgage Choice before they become available through Athena’s direct channel and Mortgage Choice Freedom direct (on realestate.com.au) later this year.
The lender also revealed that its Non-natural Persons and Trusts product is set to enter the market in September this year.
Athena’s CEO and co-founder Nathan Walsh said that the new product suite was co-designed with brokers to “deliver on the underserved needs of this sophisticated borrower cohort”.
“What we have co-created is unparalleled in market,” he said.
“Athena’s DNA centres on fiercely fair products; powerful digital platforms and policy; supported by expert, reliable humans who get deals done. We are excited to bring this to brokers looking for elevated solutions in these borrower segments.”
All Athena products have been listed on serviceability aggregator Quickli, according to the lender.
Athena has been growing quickly in recent years, having settled $7.5 billion in loans to date and having expanded its partnerships with the broker channel (via LMG and Mortgage Choice) in the past year.
Speaking of the lender’s growth, Athena’s chief financial officer and co-founder Michael Starkey said: “At both a customer and a market level, we have focused on building a business with a reputation for prioritising transparency, fairness and integrity to deliver powerful value.
“The fact that we also have strong diversity in funding at a capital level – with investment from major local and offshore banks – signifies the overall position of our business in the market.”
Athena appoints national BDM leader
The product expansion has been coupled with new hires in Athena’s business development manager (BDM) and credit teams to “[bring] substantial expertise in sophisticated lending scenarios”.
Stephane Feuillye has been appointed to lead the BDM experience nationally, as Athena’s new national BDM for specialised products. The new national BDM has experience working as a BDM with Bendigo and Adelaide Bank and worked as a senior relationship executive at MOVE Bank.
Feuillye also spent eight years with ME Bank where he worked as a mobile lending manager, a branch sales consultant, and a credit analyst.
Feuillye said: “I’ve been supporting brokers to grow their businesses for much of my 20+ year career in home loans. Being able to do this at Athena – where the mission is to change home loans for good, balancing profit with purpose, is something I am genuinely excited about.”
Non-bank lender Bizcap has also recently announced its new Line of Credit offering that aims to support small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
[Related: Bizcap funds $1bn in SME loans]
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