Mortgage fintech hits $3.7m in capital raise

The investment includes both debt and equity components and will reportedly enable the fintech to continue the development of its online mortgage marketplace that connects borrowers and investors looking for opportunities in the short-term mortgage market.

The non-bank mortgage lender was founded in 2015 to specialise in the provision of short and medium-term first mortgages for borrowers, with funding backed by Australian retail investors.

It currently offers loans with a loan-to-value ratio of up to 70 per cent, and for terms typically between one and 36 months.

Following the investment, EVP investment director Daniel Szekely will be joining the funding.com.au board of directors.

Mr Szekely said the investment in funding.com.au is further aiding connections between the growing market of borrowers seeking short-term mortgages and skilled investors looking for opportunities to invest in the short-term first mortgage market.

“With historically low interest rates and banking regulations making it more difficult to obtain credit, we are simultaneously providing investors with access to secure, first mortgage loans, and borrowers with access to capital in a trusted environment,” he said

“We believe funding.com.au is well placed to become a key player in Australia’s $1.8 trillion mortgage market.”

Funding.com.au founder and CEO Jack O’Reilly commented that the platform is “innovating in a space that is desperate for change” by providing investors with “direct access to short and medium-term mortgage returns, a rewarding asset class that has traditionally been guarded by the banks and sophisticated investors”.

[Related: BOQ opens second phase of capital raising]