Heartland secures $250m funding facility

The new facility takes Heartland’s aggregate reverse mortgage loan funding amount to $850 million. 

The group said the $250-million facility provides additional diversification of funding and boosts Heartland Seniors Finance’s capacity to meet the “growing demand” for reverse mortgages in Australia, with about 20,000 Australians turning 65 every month. 

“The combination of favourable demographics, limited active originators and plans to raise product awareness through increased marketing activity presents the opportunity for significant growth, and a number of other funding options continue to be developed, including additional warehouse facilities and long-term funding sourced offshore,” Heartland’s disclosure to the ASX stated. 

According to the ASX notice, Heartland Seniors Finance has grown its reverse mortgage market share in Australia to approximately 24 per cent. It said that it has allowed more than 18,000 seniors release more than $1 billion in equity over its 15-year history. 

Heartland Group Holdings commenced trading on the ASX in November 2018 under a foreign exempt listing, following the completion of a restructure through which the group became the parent company of New Zealand-registered bank Heartland Bank and Heartland Seniors Finance.

The restructure saw the group’s Australian reverse mortgage business, which was acquired in 2014, freed from the capital requirements of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, where it was previously operating under.

The group in May announced the appointment of Cherise Barrie to the role of chief financial officer, replacing acting CFO Myles Perry. 

[Related: Brokers well positioned to demystify reverse mortgages]