Chief Financial Officer James Austin said the success of the issue proved that the British pension funds’ widely-reported sell-off of Australian RMBS was due to the strength of our market.

“The market is certainly volatile due to the RBA increasing interest rates but our transaction demonstrates that it is still operating,” Mr Austin said.

“It shows that UK pension funds are selling here because our market is one of the most liquid markets in the world so they were able to raise cash here more easily than in most other countries”.

Mr Austin said Firstmac had been able to achieve such a large issue because of the exceptional quality of its prime loan book and demonstrated historical performance.

“We continue to be well supported in the market, in part because our rate of mortgage arrears and defaults is among the lowest in the country, and well below those of the major banks,” Mr Austin said.

“This is a strong endorsement of our non-bank lending model and our conservative credit policies.”

Mr Austin said Firstmac was so confident in the quality of its loan book that it had launched a new initiative to provide monthly data on its loan book to investors, making it the most transparent lender in Australia.

Mr. Austin said that the issue price of 1.53% over the Bank Bill Swap Rate was higher than earlier RMBS issues, but still competitive.

“Firstmac has now funded $5 billion in 2022 so we’re very well placed for the year ahead,” Mr Austin said.

“This means we’ll continue to have a forceful presence in the lending market, offering a real alternative to the big banks”.

The issue brings the total amount of RMBS issued by Firstmac since 2003, to almost $42 billion.

Brisbane-based Firstmac Limited is an independently-owned, Australian financial services provider with more than 40 years’ experience in home and investment loans.

It has written in excess of 130,000 home loans, has $16 billion in loans under management. Firstmac also has a growing auto finance business with a current portfolio of $600 million.

Media contact: Duncan Macfarlane on 0434 184 264