Homeloans and RESIMAC to consolidate

The change in name is subject to approval by Homeloans Ltd shareholders, who are expected to vote on the matter on 26 November. 

If approved, the new, single entity will hold a mortgage book of more than $12 billion and have more than 50,000 customers. 

According to the joint CEOs, Mary Ploughman and Scott McWilliam, the consolidation of the two non-bank lenders is a “natural evolution” of their 2016 merger.

Mr McWilliam said that, after its review of the products and services of the two brands following the merger, the company had determined to develop a “simpler, single brand platform from which to serve [its] customers and distributors and continue [its] strong growth”.

The company reportedly engaged “brand experts” to review the existing Homeloans and RESIMAC brands and canvassed a range of stakeholders on new branding options.

“After much analysis and research, we chose Resimac, which resonates with key stakeholder groups and will be used in both New Zealand and Australia,” Mr McWilliam said.

Speaking to The Adviser, Mr McWilliam provided some background regarding the decision to keep the Resimac name: “We believe that both brands have a lot of brand equity and either would have been a good choice. To give us true independence in making the decision we engaged an external consultancy in the decision process.

“[But], the reason for doing it is because we are looking to simplify our brand position both internally and externally. Like the two brands came together as a result of the merger, the reality is we are one company and it is important that we have one brand that represents us moving forward and represents our forward-facing statement.”

This statement, Mr McWilliam said, involved “relaunching ourselves into the market as a service-orientated as well as a digitally focused business”.

He explained: “Since we came together, we’ve been saying to the market that we want to be a more diversified non-bank lender, and the Resimac brand better represents that positioning statement than the Homeloans brand does, because Homeloans is obviously a descriptive term for a particular product.

“That is one reason why the Resimac brand makes more sense on top of a more diversified business.”

Likewise, joint CEO Mary Ploughman said that the new Resimac brand “retains the respect” the established brand has had among investors and the broader market and “reflects [its] history as a challenger and innovator and our desire to provide an exceptional customer experience”. 

“It really is taking the best of both worlds and we are confident it will help take our business to the next level,” Ms Ploughman said. 

The joint CEOs have said that there will be no impact on customer loans and that all products will remain identical to what they had been under the two separate brands. 

Brokers accredited to write Homeloans products will be able to write Resimac products should the consolidation be approved by shareholders.

Mr McWilliam concluded: “We are the same company to all our channels, to our customers, to our staff, to our business partners as to what we are today. 

“It’s just that those who were carrying a Homeloans card will be carrying a Resimac card, doing exactly the same thing.”

[Related: Former Homeloans chairman to step down from board]