THE National Australia Bank has increased its foothold in the home loans sector with the purchase of Challenger Financial Services' mortgage management business for $385 million.
The purchase includes the PLAN, Choice and FAST mortgage aggregator businesses and Challenger’s multi-brand ‘white label’ product capability.
In addition, a select portfolio of approximately $4 billion of residential mortgages will be acquired at a discount to face value for loan loss provisions. The purchase also includes an interest of approximately 17.5% in Homeloans Ltd, with the potential to increase to approximately 41% subject to Homeloans Ltd shareholder approval.
NAB’s CEO Cameron Clyne said this acquisition provides additional distribution and capability in Australian mortgages.
NAB personal banking group executive Lisa Gray said the acquisition NAB’s presence in the important broker distribution segment.
“Challenger has built an impressive business with a national network of around 5,700 brokers. As part of NAB the Challenger mortgage management business will have the capacity to grow and support its broker networks,” Gray concluded.
Australian Property Journal
