GE Capital sells $1b mortgages

Photo / Brett Phibbs

About $1 billion of New Zealand mortgages were sold in a deal announced in Australia on Wednesday to a buyer who plans to market mortgage-backed securities.

Pepper Australia is buying A$5 billion of mortgages created by GE Capital Australia and New Zealand in one of the largest whole loan transactions in Australian history.

The portfolio comprises A$4 billion of Australian prime mortgages, A$300 million of Australian specialist mortgages and A$800 million ($1.05 billion) of New Zealand mortgages. Pepper plans to issue a series of residential mortgage-backed securities deals, subject to prevailing market conditions.

The sale marks the final phase of GE Capital's withdrawal from its home lending business in Australia and New Zealand. The transaction is expected to be completed in the coming months and all customers with GE Capital-funded mortgages will be advised upon the completion of the sale.

"When we announced our exit from home lending in late 2008, we made a pledge to focus on those parts of the business that are our core strength and in which we have scale," Skander Malcolm, president and chief executive of GE Capital Australia and New Zealand, said.

"This has proven to be successful for GE Capital. Locally, we have eight strong businesses in Australia and New Zealand where we are the leading provider of credit cards; aviation finance and fleet management and leasing. We have scale, strong partnerships, and deep product and industry expertise in these businesses."

- NZPA