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AU’s Macquarie Embraces Fintech Further

February 26, 2016         By: Ryan Kennedy

Australian financial giant Macquarie is embracing the financial technology sector even further with new equity agreements.

Macquarie, one of the powerhouse institutions in Australia, has been a key supporter of fintech in the country. Now the firm is expanding further into the sector with an equity deal with DirectMoney, a relatively small startup that offers both loans and securitization funding.

DirectMoney offers loans up to $35,000 based on a peer-to-peer model. However, the model functions somewhat differently. Inside of separate investors, DirectMoney securitizes loans and offers them in a basket to investors.

So far, the startup has been on shaky footing, but has managed to provide $5 million in personal loans to Macquarie. The two companies are now engaging in a partnership that will see Macquarie offering access to funding and industry resources in exchange for up to 10 percent of DirectMoney’s stock.

The young startup initially had a rough start when it went public last year in July. Now that it is on more stable ground, Macquarie hopes to lead the startup into success. “There is an active securitization market with mortgages that’s been developed over a long period of time, there’s also an asset-based market around auto loans.

What we’re now doing is looking to pioneer a new asset-backed market around personal loans,” said Macquarie’s CEO Peter Beaumont.