Non-bank lender RESIMAC enjoyed a 30% increase in New Zealand loan applications in the six months to January, as profits soared at parent company Homeloans Limited.
Adrienne Church, General Manager at RESIMAC, said the mortgage provider saw a marked increase in applications, as well as a 35% increase in settlements from July 2017 to January. She said RESIMAC’s net portfolio growth was up 55% in the six month period, compared to the same period in the prior year.
Church said: “Our numbers are strong. We have only been here for five years; the brand is out there and advisers are comfortable with us.” Church said discharges were down 8% in the six months to January.
It comes after Homeloans, RESIMAC’s Australian parent, updated the stock market last week. Homeloans merged with RESIMAC in 2016 in a deal that combined two of Australia’s biggest non-bank mortgage providers. The company recorded a net post-tax profit of A$11.9m in the six months to December, up 111%, noting strong growth in New Zealand.
Homeloans said its profit increase was driven by the merger. The non-bank lender said total group revenue hit A$188m in the six months to December, up 29% on the same period in the prior financial year.
Homeloans said total segment revenue in New Zealand rose to A$7.2m in the half year, up from A$5.9m in the same period in 2016. Homeloans noted a A$772,000 pre-tax profit from its New Zealand lending business in the six months to December, up from A$535,000 in the corresponding six months in 2016.
RESIMAC's New Zealand subsidiary issued a $250m residential mortgage-backed security in November, its first raise since entering the market in 2012. Church said it planned to raise funds every “12 to 18 months” amid encouraging signs in New Zealand.
