Greg O’Neill

Blackstone portfolio company, La Trobe Financial, has stunned capital market observers with a benchmark $1.25 billion RMBS raising – the largest securitisation globally since the coronavirus took hold in March – effectively re-opening Australian debt capital markets and confirming Australian residential mortgages as a global safe harbour investment.

La Trobe Financial, with $11 billion in assets under management, saw support from global investment houses in Asia, the US and Europe and from Australian institutional investors. The strength of support was seen in the strong level of over-subscription across all notes, as well as excellent pricing outcomes in a volatile market. Notably, while the Federal Government’s Australian Office of Financial Management (AOFM) was closely involved with the deal, investor demand was such that no AOFM investment was required.

Martin Barry, La Trobe Financial’s Chief Treasurer & Strategy Officer commented, “We are pleased to have been able to return markets to some level of normality post the onset of the coronavirus with the raising of $1.25 billion from global and domestic investors – which is the largest securitisation transaction since the coronavirus took hold. This transaction confirms the strength of our platform and the quality of our underlying assets as ‘safe harbour’ assets in a difficult global investment environment. We are also delighted to have the support of the AOFM through this transaction. Whilst they were ultimately not required to purchase our bonds, their presence and decisiveness was a critical underpinning to investor confidence in the transaction.”

La Trobe Financial’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Greg O’Neill OAM, commented, “Congratulations to our treasury deal team in securing a benchmark $1.25 billion transaction not just for La Trobe Financial, but for capital markets in Australia. The team has shown that, even in difficult markets, we are recognised as bringing to the table a quality platform and an outstanding ability to execute. We are pleased to recognise the ongoing support for the industry from the AOFM and its role in continuing to buttress Australia’s reputation as a destination for global investors.”

The AOFM’s Structured Financial Support Fund (SFSF) was announced on 19 March 2020 as a $15 billion fund established to enable smaller lenders, who often drive innovation and provide competition, to continue supporting Australian consumers and small business. As well as its involvement in the current La Trobe Financial transaction, the AOFM has utilised the SFSF to support two prior transactions. It is also working to implement a forbearance facility, to support RMBS and warehouse cash flows through the coronavirus hardship phase.

The proceeds of the issue will be used by La Trobe Financial to continue writing home and business loans for ordinary Australians at a critical time in the history of our economy. Barry commented, “We welcomed three new investors to our already 46 investor-strong RMBS program and are delighted by the interest we have received both offshore and domestically as we build on our diverse investor base. We remain good stewards of other people’s capital and this enables us to obtain and maintain the trust of our clients – this is the real asset of the company.”

“With this RMBS transaction we achieved competitive pricing, notwithstanding increased levels of market supply and note participation from 15 domestic and seven international investors from Europe, USA and Asia.”

With $11 billion of assets under management, La Trobe Financial has been responsible for over $25 billion worth of investment mandates of varying structures since being founded in 1952. La Trobe Financial has now issued $6.17 billion of RMBS to a range of Australian and international investors. Its RMBS program has seen continued support from repeat investors and a progressively widening investor base with each transaction. Both reflect well on the diversity and resilience of La Trobe Financial’s funding base, which includes institutional mandates and Australia’s largest Credit Fund, representing the most diversified funding base in the non-bank sector.

Richard Parry, Head of Group Portfolio Management at La Trobe Financial commented, “The pricing and level of over-subscription reflects a strong endorsement of La Trobe Financial’s high quality assets, expertise and long, consistent track record as Australia’s oldest diversified wealth manager. With current trend loan originations now at $10+ billion per year, this was a practical step to complement current institutional mandates and our nationally and internationally awarded $5 billion retail Credit Fund. We have built a disciplined investment strategy and continue to deliver outstanding returns for all of our investors.”

Approximately 88% of the transaction was placed with institutional, real-money investors across the structure. Investors to the structure participated from Europe, USA and Asia, together with domestic Australian domiciled institutions.

The Arranger of the deal was Macquarie Bank, while Joint Lead Managers included the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, Macquarie Bank, Natixis and Citi. Wells Fargo was a Co-Manager.

La Trobe Financial will pay 120 basis points over the Bank Bill Swap Rate (BBSW) on $281 million of A1S notes, which have a weighted average life of 0.70 years.

Pricing on $593 million of A1L notes, which have a weighted average life of 3.20 years, was 195 basis points over BBSW.

Pricing on $235 million of A2 notes, which have a weighted average life of 3.20 years was 275 basis points over BBSW.

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Greg O’Neill

La Trobe Financial has announced that it has donated $1 million to the Epworth Hospital for additional ICU equipment to cope with the anticipated influx of COVID-19 admissions during this pandemic.

La Trobe Financial President & CEO Greg O’Neill OAM said, “We are pleased to be able to assist the frontline ICU team at Epworth Hospital to manage the expected demand on their expertise. We recently donated $1 million during the bushfire crisis and we are stepping up again during this new national emergency.”

“This disease represents a unique situation for the global and local economy. Whilst the full human and economic impacts are still largely unknown and evolving, we are working with our industry partners and government to manage its effect on our customers and our staff. The health, safety and wellbeing of our fellow Australians is of paramount importance to us.”

“We have worked extensively with the Epworth Hospital in the past and are pleased to extend our support through this pandemic. Staying true to our philosophy of ‘others before self’, we will do everything we can to help our customers through this challenging time,” continued O’Neill.

Epworth Hospital CEO, Dr Lachlan Henderson said, “Our relationship with La Trobe Financial now goes back many years and it’s been an incredibly generous organisation to work with and one that is truly responsive; they are a first-class organisation and well respected in their industry. As one of the largest not for profit hospital groups in Victoria, this $1 million donation has been put to immediate use in our critical care expansion. We again place on record our thanks to Greg O’Neill and his team at La Trobe Financial. We have very important work to do over the coming weeks and months and this has helped us achieve that objective of keeping many Australians in better care.”

O’Neill commented, “When the chips are down, Australians have a proud record of standing behind and supporting each other. We should all be going out of our way to assist these frontline workers, thank them, and to tell them what an amazing job they’re doing.”

The $1 million donation comes after La Trobe Financial put in place a range of assistance measures to support its customers who are financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, including:

• Home loan customers may apply for a 4-month repayment moratorium to assist with cashflow;
• Tailored hardship relief for small business borrowers, which may include: o Deferral of scheduled loan repayments;
  • Waiver of fees and charges;
  • Temporary interest only periods to assist with cashflow; and
  • Debt consolidation to help make repayments more manageable.
• For investors in the $5 billion retail Credit Fund, easier access to funds for customers suffering material hardship as a result of COVID-19.

“There are no more important jobs right now than the brave doctors and scientists working around the clock to solve this issue. Until a vaccine is produced however, it’s about our character as a nation – who we are when placed under pressure and how we respond. Australians are generally an unassuming bunch, but we are at our best when circumstances are at their worst. It’s what makes Australians so special,” said O’Neill.

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Greg O’Neill

La Trobe Financial has announced that it has established a Disaster Relief Package to assist customers affected by the bushfires.

For customers who have lost their homes to the bushfires, La Trobe Financial will pay loan interest and charges for twelve months, provide access to interest-free loans to help cover any gap between insurance payouts and the cost of rebuilding, and allow fee-free withdrawals from investments in the La Trobe Australian Credit Fund.

For other customers experiencing hardship because of the bushfires, La Trobe Financial will defer loan repayments for up to twelve months, help with finance on discounted terms to cover property repair costs or support a small business, and make it easier to access investments in the La Trobe Australian Credit Fund without incurring fees.

For customers who are volunteer firefighters, La Trobe Financial will also offer financial help including deferral of home loan repayments for up to 6 months.

The Disaster Relief Package is in addition to La Trobe Financial’s recent $1 million donation to assist people affected by the bushfires across Australia. The donation was split between The Salvation Army Disaster Appeal and the Australian Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund.

La Trobe Financial President & CEO Greg O’Neill OAM says: “true to our philosophy of others before self, we are determined to look out for our customers and offer meaningful support to those affected through this very challenging time.”

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Since inking a partnership in December 2017 with Blackstone, the US$545 billion AUM New York based Alternative Asset Manager, La Trobe Financial has grown to over $9 billion AUM and sees further growth ahead. Deploying 385 staff, originating c$850 million of both residential and commercial loans each month, and operating retail investments via its award-winning $4 billion retail Credit Fund, the business is now entering a new phase.

La Trobe Financial is well on track to becoming one of Australia’s leading non-banks, with planned growth and a clear focus on broader market opportunities. Greg O’Neill CEO said…” the company, with almost seven decades in business and a proven record of performance is well positioned to serve our customers with a genuine difference, and to better this we have decided to further strengthen our executive ranks with three experienced bankers.

David Bleakley, a bank industry veteran, and most recently Chief Risk Officer North America for ANZ banking group based in New York, including 10 years with Standards & Poor’s in credit has been appointed Vice President Treasury & Settlement Services.

David is originally from New York, having commenced his career with Standard & Poor’s and worked across their Municipal Bond, Financial Institutes and Structured Finance Rating Department. Following this, he worked with the National Australia Bank as Head of Asset Backed Securities and Structured Credit Operations in Melbourne, where he built the foundations of what was to become the largest RMBS/ABS house in the Australian market.

O’Neill said “we are delighted to have David join us. His solid credit and capital markets experience will play an important role as we grow and we very much look forward to supporting him in his leadership as we expand our operations.” Bleakley said, “I’m genuinely excited by our prospects and the genuine point of difference La Trobe Financial bring to market, the opportunity set is very large indeed.”

Also joining the team is Rick Drury, another veteran banker highly recognised as a global expert in financial services industry risk. Rick has initially been appointed Senior Executive Chief Lending Officer – Commercial. Rick has developed a global and deep knowledge of credit risk and portfolio management over 30 years.

Before joining La Trobe Financial, Rick was the Managing Director of the National Bank’s UK Commercial Real Estate run-off business. Under his leadership Rick established a team of over 200 banking professionals and achieved over 80% reduction in financial risk exposure to the bank. He has also led teams during a period of disruptive global markets (post Global Financial Crisis) with the delivery of high quality outcomes (minimising losses and underpinning bank support for Australian business customers) through focusing on consensual debt workouts, turnaround and restructuring.

Confirming Rick Drury’s appointment, Chief Lending Officer, Cory Bannister said, “we are delighted to welcome someone of this calibre to our team. His strong experience in leadership makes him a valuable addition. Rick will play a major role in executing our strategic plan.” Drury stated, “this is a once in generation opportunity for non-banks to truly serve customers with distinction and excellence. Our culture is rightly focused on customers first, and our processes and credit hygiene are first rate. We are great stewards of investor capital having managed over $17 billion since inception serving over 140,000 customers so we are confident we can deliver something special for our customers and staff.”

Completing the trio of appointments is Annie Sestito, who has been appointed Senior Executive Head of People, PR and Marketing. Annie has over 20 years’ experience in Financial Services, Superannuation and Banking. Prior to joining La Trobe Financial, Annie worked at Westpac most recently as the Executive Manager – Head of Strategic Partnerships and Alliances and previously in Corporate and Private Banking for over a decade. Annie also has diverse industry experience and has held a number of positions including Head of Corporate and Wealth with ME Bank in their Treasury Department where she was instrumental in raising capital by building their intermediary wholesale funding book. Annie also has over 11 years’ experience in superannuation having held a number of roles at AXA Australia and AMP where she managed large operational teams.

Upon joining Annie stated, “at the heart of every great organisation are great people, and we are building on a company that has the right core values to succeed. This is such a wonderful place to work and I’m delighted to join such a solid group of professionals at this point of my career. We see the future through the customer lense and notwithstanding the opportunity know that our success can never be at the expense of our clients or staff. I encourage all people oriented bankers who are looking for the next challenge to reach out as we have other senior positions available”

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Greg O’Neill, President & CEO of La Trobe Financial stated that “Hong Kong and Asia are a key pillar of our international strategy, allowing us to tap into the world’s fastest growing economic region.”

Mr Chan joined La Trobe Financial in 2013 and is pleased to be appointed the Head of the Group’s Hong Kong office. He stated that “setting-up a local office in the Hub of Asia will better service our growing investor customer base and broaden the company’s Asian presence.”

Mr Chan furthered commented that “our Hong Kong office also complements our long established Shanghai office”.

La Trobe Financial has held an office in Shanghai since 2009 and also established operations in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone (SFTZ) in 2014. As one of only a handful of financial institutions setting up in the SFTZ, La Trobe Financial is well positioned to participate in China’s proposed financial market deregulation, and the opportunities this presents for trade and investment flows between China and Australia and potentially the rest of the Asian region.

Greg O’Neill further commented, “this is the right time to open an office in Hong Kong. Mr Chan’s firsthand experience on the ground and network throughout Asia has played, and will continue to play a pivotal role to the organisation’s shape and future expansion into the Asian region.”

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Greg O’Neill

La Trobe Financial’s President & CEO, Greg O’Neill said “we are determined to play a role in narrowing the gender gap. Diversity and inclusion is a critical business issue at La Trobe Financial. Of our 180 staff, 65 percent comprise of women.

We have a business and moral responsibility to build an inclusive culture, and gender equality is a key focus for us. We value difference and appreciate the variety of perspectives that this brings to our business. We know that if our people are able to be themselves at work, they are more engaged and productive.”

Bev Christou, La Trobe Financial’s Vice President & Head of Human Resources commented “La Trobe Financial embraces the opportunity to be a role model and agent for change for gender equality.”

Christou further commented “that it important for us to attract, retain and promote female talent. It is critical to our business success and to delivering the best services to our clients. Through internal networks and groups, education, measurement and management, we work closely with our leaders and our people to support their careers and our business goals. We share best practice and collaborate to further develop our unified diversity and inclusion strategies and initiatives throughout the organisation.”

At La Trobe Financial it does not matter if you are female or male. If you are young or old, or been working with La Trobe Financial for 5 years or 5 days. O’Neill stated “that most of our successful employees as, ranked by our Company Awards each year have been women. Out of our 180 staff, we have over 30 employees that have worked with La Trobe Financial for more than 10 years and 19 of them are women. That says a lot for a company.”

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Greg O’Neill, La Trobe Financial’s CEO commented that “putting inclusive behaviours at the core of what we do and making gender equality a business priority not only benefits the women we employ, but also the organisation as a whole and the clients, customers and communities we serve. Our dedication and commitment to driving change should educate and inspire other employers to make a difference, whatever their size or sector.”

La Trobe Financial conducts a number of initiatives aimed at encouraging a diverse and inclusive workforce. Bev Christou, Head of Operations stated “attracting, retaining and promoting female talent is critical to our business success and to delivering the best services to our clients. Through internal networks and groups, education, measurement and management, we work closely with our leaders and our people to support their careers and our business goals. We share best practice and collaborate to further develop our unified diversity and inclusion strategies and initiatives throughout the organisation.”

O’Neill further commented that “our staff are our greatest ambassadors. All employees are treated as individuals, deserving the respect of their subordinates, peers and managers. Without each other’s support and commitment, we would not be one of Australia’s leading credit special fund managers.”

Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012

The Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 (the Act) was established to promote and improve gender equality. The Act was designed for organisations to close the gap between the genders in the workplace, including full and part-time employees, occupation and remuneration. For over 60 years La Trobe Financial has always recognised that its employees are the very core of the company’s successful existence no matter what gender. The company has had a long history of ensuring women in the workforce are given equal opportunity with male counterparts having started a female superannuation fund for all female staff in 1968.

The Act introduces a new reporting and compliance framework. This is an important initiative which aims to reduce the regulatory burden on employers, encourage measures that improve gender equality outcomes and provide a rich data set that the Workplace Gender Equality Agency will analyse to develop industry based educational benchmarks and future strategies to improve general equality in Australian workplaces.

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Victoria Park, Collingwood

Collingwood Football Club yesterday announced La Trobe Financial as their new Premier Partner for the next three years. This signing announced at a media conference hosted by Eddie McGuire at Collingwood Football Club was attended by Greg O’Neill, President & CEO of La Trobe Financial, senior players, officials and senior Executives of La Trobe Financial.

At the media conference McGuire stated the signing of La Trobe Financial was important for a number of reasons; the term of three years gives both the Club and La Trobe Financial a good period to connect the brands and build La Trobe Financial’s profile, the level of investment is significant, and the quality of the La Trobe Financial products and services to be offered to the Club’s record membership base.

As one of Australia’s leading credit and funds management organisations with 150 staff, and offices in Sydney, Shanghai and Melbourne, La Trobe Financial has had the lowest profile of any of the non-bank operators in the country – it is privately held and does not normally seek media attention – and yet has the longest history of any of its peers dating back to 1952. The Collingwood Football Club sponsorship marks the first time the company has branded itself to the general public.

Having served over 120,000 individual clients and managed $10 Billion dollars of investment mandates for some of Australia’s largest institutional and retail investors alike the time had come for the company to take the next step. Offering a broad range of leading and innovative financial products including home loans, commercial loans, construction loans, its innovative P2C (parent–to-child) loan and Self-Managed Super Fund loan just to name a few, La Trobe Financial has been at the forefront of industry success for the past six decades and yet is relatively unknown. It also manages retail investments in Australia’s largest and multi-award winning Mortgage Fund with over 10,000 retail mum and dad investors with profiles not dissimilar to Collingwood’s Club member profile.

Eddie McGuire, President of Collingwood Football Club commented that “the strategic partnership is a quality three year deal that complements our Club and our ability to attract further members and business at a number of levels. We are excited to be working so closely with the first class team at La Trobe Financial.”

Greg O’Neill, La Trobe Financial’s President & CEO said…”we are very pleased to be working with such a successful brand as Collingwood Football Club that has a long history of looking out for its members and supporters. Like Collingwood, La Trobe Financial has looked out for its customers for over 62 years, so we share similar values.”

O’Neill further commented….”What attracted us to Collingwood was their professionalism, profile, and the work done with their members over the past decade including the significant community work by their Foundation in housing 75 homeless people in 20 homes owned by the Foundation which deserves special recognition. One of La Trobe Financial’s objectives is to help Australians achieve financial independence and we applaud others who do more than talk about these issues”.

Gary Pert, the Collingwood Football Club’s CEO mentioned that “he was excited by the partnership which sits side by side with existing premier partner brands of Emirates, CGU Insurance and Star. It’s a great opportunity to join forces with an organisation that has a strong track record of performance over 62 years as La Trobe Financial has.”

Pert added…”This partnership epitomises two organisations that constantly strive for excellence and new ways to service their stakeholders.”

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The International Alternative Investment Review Awards (IAIR) were held in Hong Kong on 10 March 2015 and recognised some of the world’s best in wealth management, brokerage and asset management. Winners were chosen from a short list selected by over 50,000 investors globally following review by a judging panel.

So what makes La Trobe Financial so deserving of such an award? The strength of its operations and expertise in managing other peoples’ money. The company has been doing this for over 60 years. Even during volatile times, when competitors ceased or had to freeze their operations, La Trobe Financial continued with business as usual. The award winning formula is that La Trobe Financial manage your money as if it were their own.

La Trobe Financial’s President & CEO, Mr Greg O’Neill commented “I am delighted that we have been recognised again for being relied upon in all economic climates. It has been good business sense to thrive in markets where many global giants have fallen, proving that being solid is far more important than being big.”

The Pooled Mortgages Option of the La Trobe Financial mortgage fund has recently been awarded Superior 41/4 star rating by SQM Research. This is the highest ever rating awarded in the mortgage fund sector by SQM. SQM’s Managing Director, Louis Christopher, in releasing the report stated:

“The rating reflects SQM Research’s continued faith in the Fund’s skilled and experienced investment team. Moreover, the Fund has been able to record strong outperformance to its stated benchmark and the broader peer group over the year… The Fund has also continued to record strong growth in funds under management, recording 44.5% growth over the year to August 2014.”
Randal Williams, Senior Vice President & Chief Investment Officer commented that “the key reasons for the strong performance of the Fund are our industrial strength credit assessment process, highly conservative LVR maxima and rigorous portfolio selection criteria. We emphasise diversification to reduce portfolio risk and pride ourselves on our highly focused asset management”.

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Hana Basic

La Trobe Financial deeply believes in investing in the future of our country and has recently decided to sponsor Ms Hana Basic, one of Australia’s elite junior athletic champions. Hana commenced her career in athletics in primary school after her PE Teacher suggested she join the local athletics club.

Hana is currently completing the first year of a Bachelor of Sports Science at Deakin University in Melbourne and most of her colleagues would not even know about her speed on the track. Marketing and Media Manager at La Trobe Financial Ms Caterina Nesci stated “We believe Hana is a promising athlete who has enormous upside potential over the coming years.”

One of Hana’s biggest idols is Olympic gold medallist Sally Pearson, who won gold in every major championship. In April of this year Hana smashed her own 100m personal best at the Australian Junior National Athletics Championships. She ran a personal best time of 11.64 seconds eclipsing Pearson’s mark of 11.70secs; she needed a time of 11.86 seconds to qualify.

Hana trains up to two times every day on the track, in the gym and in the pool between her University studies. “It’s all about being disciplined and dedicated so as to fit in training around study,” she says. Her best advice “keep working and training hard to achieve whatever you want to achieve, because results will eventually come.”

La Trobe Financial’s President & CEO, Greg O’Neill, says that when he first met Hana he knew right away she had the right attributes for success. She showed the determination, discipline and desire to succeed. The very same attributes that our current Company dAmbassador and 5 time Winter Olympian Jacqui Cooper continues to display today.

La Trobe Financial has a long history of helping Australians achieve both financial independence and giving back to the community. Through our La Trobe Foundation, launched back in 1978, we fund our Staff Community Service Program permitting all staff to volunteer up to two days a year (fully paid by La Trobe Financial) to work in the broader community and to have a positive impact on those around us by working in organisations such as Lifeline and Meals on Wheels. The second aspect of the La Trobe Foundation is that we provide ten School Scholarships each year for children or grandchildren of our 120,000 customers, and thirdly we sponsor elite athletes, focused on excellence such as Jacqui Cooper and Hana Basic.

The work of our La Trobe Foundation continues as part of our overall corporate initiative to recognise the demands placed on families and clients within modern society. We are very proud of the work undertaken and funded by the La Trobe Financial Foundation and the very real assistance it has provided to Lifeline and other volunteer organisations with our staff work days, the children of numerous borrowers and investors seeking excellence in education through annual School Scholarships, and through the sponsoring of rising young Australian sporting talent like Hana.

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