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Athena Home Loans has inked a funding deal with global alternative investment group Cerberus and its non-bank lender subsidiary Bluestone.
The deal, which represents one of the largest fintech strategic partnerships in Australia, will supply provide Athena Home Loans with a $2bn funding over the next three years.
This is Athena Home Loans’ second whole-loan funding arrangement in the last six months. Late last year, the group sealed a $300m funding deal with Newcastle Permanent Building Society.
Athena Home Loans is considered one of Australia's fastest growing fintechs. It has settled over $2bn in applications since its launch in February 2019.
Michael Starkey, COO and co-founder of Athena Home Loans, said the group has developed an innovative platform to access wholesale funding from a broad range of major financial institutions.
"Athena’s innovation on funding arrangements supports our accelerated lending growth and allows us to help more Aussie borrowers pay down their home loan faster and capture big interest savings. This recent deal is further validation that there is strong institutional demand for innovative funding models," he said
Campbell Smyth, CEO of Bluestone said the partnership builds on Bluestone's foundation as a tech-enabled non-bank lender.
"Athena shares our commitment to innovation and tailored solutions to meet customers’ evolving needs. We look forward to exploring strategic opportunities with Athena to expand our offerings and capabilities," he said.
The deal was also a significant move for Cerberus, given that it represents the group's fourth deal in Australia's financial services sector.
"This transaction with Athena is aligned with our focus on providing solutions to Australian businesses and customers. This strategic partnership brings together two complementary platforms with strong expertise in the residential home loans sector," said David McWilliam, head of Cerberus Australia.
