New YBR funding to challenge majors

Yesterday, Yellow Brick Road announced it had entered into an agreement with Macquarie Bank, giving the wealth management business a new funding line at a significantly discounted rate.

The new Yellow Brick Road product, which is available from today, is a 1.15 per cent p.a discount off the base rate of 6.65 per cent p.a for the first 12 months on residential home loan products.

After that, a discount off the base rate of up to 0.86 per cent p.a. is guaranteed for the life of the loan.

In a statement delivered to the ASX, Yellow Brick Road said it would take its brand and branch distribution footprint to drive market share and establish much needed competition in financial services.

Speaking to The Adviser, Yellow Brick Road CEO Matt Lawler said that the business had been gearing up to deliver a sharply priced mortgage product for some time – it was just a matter of finding the right partner.

“We’ve been approached by numerous lenders over the last six to nine months but we were looking for a partner with the right capabilities.

Macquarie’s substantial balance sheet made it a strong contender as a funder for Yellow Brick Road but it was the bank’s capabilities across other areas that sealed the deal.

“Macquarie Bank doesn’t just represent a strong partner in mortgages, it is the broader banking offering and wealth management proposition which was of interest to us – there is considerable potential for them to support us in other areas,” Mr Lawler said.

“We’ll be exploring other options with Macquarie in the future but the first priority is to provide borrowers with a compatative mortgage that can challenge the big banks”.