Australia-based Bendigo and Adelaide Bank has purchased a $1.5 billion margin lending loan portfolio from Macquarie Group for $52 million.
The purchase means Bendigo and Adelaide Bank (BEN), through its margin lending business leveraged equities (LE), will further consolidate its position as a provider of margin lending products in Australia, with more than $3.6 billion of loans under management, said BEN.
According to company, this agreement consolidates relationships with more than 3,000 independent financial advisers in addition to the existing broker distribution networks in which LE is dominant. The purchase also coincides with the signing of a three-year white label distribution agreement with Macquarie Private Wealth.
. The issue of these shares, and the acquisition of the Macquarie portfolio, will take BEN’s tier one capital position to approximately 7.8%, while total capital moves to approximately 10.6%.
Jamie McPhee, CEO of partner advised banking at BEN, said: We see a strong future for margin lending in Australia as an important strategy for our customers to be able to build a strong and diversified personal balance sheet. This is an ideal opportunity to cement our position as the industry leading independent margin lender of choice.
