The co-chief executive of lender and loan servicer Pepper Group, Patrick Tuttle, is not concerned about the lack of activity in the mortgage securitisation market this year, predicting that the first mortgage-backed issue by an Australian issuer is not far away.Pepper is particularly sensitive to developments in the securitisation market, with 43 per cent of its current funding coming from public and private securitisation trusts. Another 43 per cent of its funding comes from warehouse facilities that will have to be termed out at some stage.Pepper is on a strong growth path, with a 97 per cent increase in loan originations over the 12 months to December, compared with the previous year, and 34 per cent growth in its loan book.A prolonged hiatus in the securitisation market could put a brake on the company's growth.Tuttle said: "I am not worried about that. The first issue is close. A major bank is preparing to go into the market."We are looking at late March or April for our first issue and I am confident about that. Margins will be wider than last year but we have factored that in."Pepper, which was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange last August, reported a net profit of A$3.4 million for the 12 months to December.After adjusting for acceleration of long-term management incentives, cash profit was $48.6 million, which exceeded prospectus forecasts.Tuttle said the management incentive was a one-off legacy issue.On the servicing side of the business, assets under management rose by 63 per cent to $39.9 billion.Pepper co-chief executive Mike Culhane said banks in Europe were still outsourcing their loan servicing.Culhane said: "What we are seeing now is central banks looking at how banks manage their portfolios. A number of lenders are not meeting stricter regulatory requirements and are under pressure to outsource their servicing."Tuttle said growth on the lending side was a result of expanded distribution and a broader product set. Pepper is distributing through more brokers and it has also launched a direct sales channel.Eighteen months ago it added a prime loan to its portfolio, expanding beyond its base in non-conforming lending. It has had a lot of success with a "near-prime" loan, as tighter regulatory requirements on ADI lending standards mean that more borrowers are falling outside the prime category.The delinquency rate on its prime and non-conforming loans (repayments past due by 90 days or more) fell throughout 2015 to finish the year at 1.35 per cent of total loans.The company has also got into the auto loan business.Tuttle and Culhane are confident Pepper will maintain its momentum and they have forecast that 2016 and earnings will be around $59 million.