Bank-aggregator loan book hits $36.9bn

Goldfields Money, which recently merged with mortgage aggregator Finsure, has released its trading results, revealing managed loan settlement growth of 63 per cent ($48 million) in November 2018.

However, the bank-aggregator reported a 3 per cent month-on-month drop in aggregation loan settlements ($1.07 billion).

Goldfields said it was pleased with the results “given tightening of credit conditions” and added that the contraction was “slight” compared to the 11.5 per cent reduction in industry settlements nationally.

Further, Goldfields revealed that its recruitment of new loan writers amounted to a 20 per cent increase, with its total numbers increasing to 1,553 as of 30 November 2018.

Reflecting on the result, Goldfields managing director Simon Lyons said: “The group continued its strong performance in November with a managed loan book reported at $2.5 billion and aggregation book of $34.4 billion.

“Goldfields Money’s banking business also wrote $5 million in settled loans onto its balance sheet, over the month, contributing to a healthy [year-on-year] balance growth of 11 per cent.”

Mr Lyons claimed the group is on track to achieving its post-merger ambitions and said that he expects additional settlement growth in the 2019 financial year.

“Since the completion of the merger in September 2017, 2018, the pipeline of applications continues to be healthy and the post-merger integration is going to plan,” Mr Lyons added.

“We expect to derive more revenue growth opportunities in the second half of the financial year, as we increasingly leverage our broker channel.”

Speaking to Mortgage Business following the completion of the merger, Mr Lyons said that Goldfields was looking to develop its “on-balance sheet” loan book, which he described as “microscopic” in comparison to its “off-balance sheet” aggregation business.

The managing director also stated that the bank also plans to offer “different styles of deposit products” to “reduce the cost of funding”.

Mr Lyons added that Goldfields would continue to focus on “prime lending” to borrowers “across the board”, claiming that the bank doesn’t have the “same limits that other larger banks have had in the past with regards to investor and interest-only loans”.

[Related: Bank-aggregator reveals post-merger plans]