Macquarie expands lending activities in its markets business

Macquarie Group is increasing the amount of lending it does in its commodities and financial markets business.

CFM is the re-named fixed income, currencies and commodities business. It provides clients with risk and capital solutions across a number of physical and financial markets. Services include currency, interest rate and commodity hedging, access to markets, physical execution and financing.

At an investor briefing yesterday, the division's group head, Andrew Downe, said the division was doing more lending and would look to do even more.

Financial products include trade finance, project finance, working capital and securitisation.

Downe said the lending activities were not the "vanilla" solutions offered by commercial banks.

"We step in where there is a bit more structuring. We would not be interested in an oil producer wanting trade finance to get its product from A to B," he said.

"But we might put together a deal where we take the title to the commodity to get it off the client's balance sheet."

In the United Kingdom CFM is working with a specialist lender in the property investment market, Paragon. Macquarie provides Paragon with a warehouse facility and securitises its mortgages.