Wednesday, 23 September 2020
Newcastle Permanent Building Society (Newcastle Permanent), that has $11 billion in assets and is Australia’s best capitalised significant customer-owned banking organisation, and Athena Home Loans have today announced a strategic partnership in the Australian home loan market.
Under the agreement, Newcastle Permanent will supply Athena with an initial $300 million in home loan funding with the potential for future transactions and a broader partnership.
This ground-breaking relationship is part of Newcastle Permanent’s strategy to actively pursue partnership opportunities where they align to the organisation’s core business of helping customers with their banking needs, particularly where they support the delivery of digital innovation for customers.
Newcastle Permanent’s CEO Bernadette Inglis said, “This relationship is part of the continued evolution of our business which has been operating for 117 years. This partnership with a digital industry innovator and leader supports our vision to become Australia’s favourite banking experience.
This strategic partnership underpins the value we are able to offer our customers and supports long-term organisational resilience and no impact to our customers or our people.
“The Board and I believe there will be future opportunities for this partnership to evolve and help us develop further benefits to our customers. Newcastle is home to so much innovation, and we have Newcastle in our name; this innovative partnership between a customer-focussed lender and a fintech complements the strength of both our organisations and allows us both to support our customers and grow.
Newcastle Permanent Chair Jeff Eather said the transaction will fast track Newcastle Permanent’s growth strategy and will build on the momentum underway in the business.
“Our business model helps Australians purchase homes; be it directly through Newcastle Permanent’s owned-channels or through our highly successful broker network partnerships,” Mr Eather said.
“During our discussions with Athena we recognised we share a range of values – this sets a positive tone for the future.”
This new opportunity has been enabled by Newcastle Permanent’s strong liquidity and capital reserves built over a number of years. This has allowed the organisation to seize this opportunity when it was presented.
The success of Athena has been well documented. It is a standout in the fintech sector with a refreshing and pioneering approach to home loans that is customer-centric.
Athena Cofounder and COO Michael Starkey said “We are excited to be partnering with a like-minded institution such as Newcastle Permanent. Developing innovative solutions is a key part of our strategy.
“Since our launch in February 2019, we have been Australia’s fastest growing fintech, writing over $1.6 billion in home loans. Strong funder support for this growth is underpinned by Athena’s best-in-market portfolio credit quality. With our innovative digital mortgage platform we are able to pass on the benefits to our borrowers via great rates and big savings,” Mr Starkey said.
About Athena Home Loans
Athena is on a mission to save Australians a whole lot of money and help pay off their home loan faster. Athena was founded in June 2017 by Nathan Walsh and Michael Starkey to revolutionise the home loan industry and make it better in every way. Athena built an innovative digital home loan platform to deliver savings to borrowers, backed by local home loan experts, seven days a week. Athena has an experienced executive team with a track record of delivering innovative products and outstanding customer experiences.