Macquarie re-enters mortgage market

Macquarie Bank has resumed mortgage lending, partnering with Australia’s largest aggregator AFG to trial a new product through the broker channel.

A Macquarie spokesperson told Mortgage Business that the small scale trial would help the bank gauge broker appetite and hopefully result in broader distribution of the lender’s products.

“Macquarie has been monitoring the market for some time and looking at a variety of opportunities. Our focus has been very much on building our diversified funding strategy and building a sustainable business for the long term,” the spokesperson said.

“As such, we are currently trialling a new product offering through a limited number of distributors (including AFG) and existing clients. We are in the very early stages of our trial and as such we don’t have any update on when an offering may be available to the market more widely.”

AFG general manager sales and operations, Mark Hewitt, said he hoped the trial would prove successful and encourage Macquarie to fully return to the mortgage lending market.

“The trial will establish the appetite for Macquarie products. As the trial was launched just before Christmas, it is too early to understand the impact it has had on our brokers. However, I think it is a good sign for both Macquarie and the industry as a whole,” Mr Hewitt told Mortgage Business.

Macquarie Bank is a cornerstone investor in AFG and currently owns 10 per cent of the aggregator.