Aussie Welcomes Commonwealth Bank of Australia's Increased Investment
Executive Chairman and Founder John Symond today agreed for the Commonwealth Bank (CBA) to increase its shareholding to 80 percent, by acquiring a further 47 per cent.
Online, December 19, 2012 (Newswire.com) - Executive Chairman and Founder John Symond today agreed for the Commonwealth Bank (CBA) to increase its shareholding to 80 percent, by acquiring a further 47 per cent.
John Symond will continue as Executive Chairman of Aussie and will retain a 20 percent shareholding, while continuing to be involved in the growth and direction of the company.
"We welcome this arrangement as CBA's increased interest in Aussie is a great opportunity for the company to further accelerate our growth. We now have the opportunity to grow by investing in our product and service offerings and will remain a strong competitor in the mortgage broking channel," said Mr Symond.
Aussie will continue to offer hundreds of home loan options through its extensive panel of 18 lenders, as well as the range of non-mortgage Aussie products, such as insurance, personal loans and credit cards.
Mr Symond said "We will continue to grow our existing external business relationships with our diverse partners and establish new relationships to ensure we continue to provide a competitive and broad choice of products and services from a diverse range of business partners and lenders to our customers.
"The Commonwealth Bank will give us additional strength to grow and service our customers. We will continue to offer a wide range of options, providing consumers the best options for their needs. It's business as usual for Aussie," he concluded.
About Aussie:
Aussie was founded in 1992 by John Symond AM, who was widely credited with bringing competition to the Australian home lending industry. The company was unique in its approach to home loans, offering 24 hours a day service and loans far cheaper than those offered by banks.
In 1994 Aussie introduced the securitisation of home loans, allowing it to offer loans upwards of 3% cheaper than its competitors. The company rapidly grew as consumers became aware of its products and the competition heated up as Aussie grew its market share. In 2008 CBA acquired a 33% share of Aussie. As at end September 2012, Aussie had a loans portfolio of almost $44.9 billion. In 2012 Aussie acquired Mortgage aggregator nMB, which brought its total portfolio value to more than $53bn.
