(Pictured: Paul Wells)

La Trobe Financial, which is Australia’s largest and oldest privately owned mortgage lender and credit fund manager, has entered the RMBS market with a $102 million public raising.

La Trobe* and its long-time banker, Commonwealth Bank, which is lead manager, have priced a capital markets residential mortgage-backed securities issuance covering 586 “near prime” mortgages.

Paul Wells, La Trobe’s chief investment officer, said the transaction allowed the firm to broaden its funding capabilities, with the RMBS program as one component of the overall funding strategy.

He said: “Since 1952, La Trobe Financial has raised the majority of funding for its residential lending program through medium and long-term debt facilities and mandates from Australian and international banks. This has resulted in over $10 billion of loans being managed by the group. Supporting historical funding with a capital markets RMBS issuance creates complementary opportunities to strengthen and expand our funding footprint with more investors both here and globally.”

La Trobe was founded by the late Ray O’Neill to lend to workers in the La Trobe Valley who had difficulty borrowing from the major banks for their homes. It is owned by Greg O’Neill, Ray’s son, who is president and chief executive. The company has a Shanghai office, which it opened four years ago, as well as a new Sydney office, a Hong Kong representative office, the Taralgon office, which focuses on administration, and Melbourne head office. 

*The author is a non-executive director of La Trobe.