Homeloans reaping the reward of regulatory changes

The group posted a net profit after tax of $2.8 million for the six months to 31 December, up 4.9 per cent on the prior corresponding period.

Homeloans' branded mortgage settlements for the period were $612 million, up 23 per cent.

Meanwhile, managed settlements including a four-month contribution from Queensland mortgage manager Barnes Home Loans were up 22 per cent.

In an ASX update yesterday, the group noted that the Homeloans business continues to perform strongly despite changes to the regulatory landscape during the period which impacted segments of the mortgage market, such as investor and interest only loans.

“Recent industry fragmentation, which has seen lenders moving to differentiate on policy and pricing, has benefited Homeloans given its diversified funding base,” it said.

Homeloans’ CEO Scott McWilliam said the group was pleased with the level of settlements growth and profit uplift.

“With so many lenders adopting pricing and policy changes for particular mortgage products, our diversified funding base has allowed us to capitalise on these changes,” he said.

Looking to the future, the non-bank lender is keen to ramp up its third-party distribution. Mr McWilliam said the group’s brand recognition has been enhanced by Homeloans’ sponsorship of the Perth Scorchers.

“Our sponsorship of the Perth Scorchers has significantly enhanced our brand recognition with third-party broker partners and their customers and we are pleased with the level of national coverage this relationship has again provided,” he said.

“Homeloans has a clear aim to grow and diversify the business with a focus on further enhancing product and service offerings across the company’s third-party broker partners and direct retail networks.”

The company recently launched its Homeloans Envizion product to further expand its breadth of mortgage product offerings.

[Related: Homeloans Ltd acquires non-bank]