Pepper Money has officially launched mortgage lending operations in New Zealand.
According to the non-bank lender, it's “clear there is a gap” in the New Zealand market its flexible lending products are well suited to fill.
The new operation will be headed by New Zealand-born Aaron Milburn who has acted as the director of sales and distribution for Pepper Money in Australia for the past three years, after almost two decades working with Australian banks.
“Today’s launch is the culmination of more than a year of close consultation with advisers and intermediaries, lending partners, regulators and borrowers,” Milburn said.
“Pepper succeeds because of our technology platform, our focus on customer value and service, and our genuine willingness to tailor mortgages to each borrower’s unique circumstances.
“We are the lender for real-life situations - we look for reasons to lend to, not decline borrowers. We’ll be doing the same here and we’re very confident Kiwis will embrace our proposition.”
The New Zealand business is based in Auckland and currently offers prime, near-prime and specialist loans on a white-label basis through Ascenteon, lending primarily through mortgage advisers as in Pepper’s other markets.
While the business will operate as a stand-alone New Zealand lender, it will draw on the experience and capability of both the Australian business and the international Pepper Group, with lending operations also in Ireland, the UK, Spain and Asia.
“Our expansion into New Zealand is a mark of confidence in Pepper’s business model and our ability to execute on strategic growth initiatives,” said Mario Rehayem, CEO of Pepper Group in Australia.
“The New Zealand arm of Pepper will embrace the local culture, whilst staying true to the DNA of Pepper’s renowned global credit proposition - putting the borrower first.
“That focus has underpinned our success in every market we have entered, and we look forward to having a significant impact on New Zealand’s mortgage lending market.”
