Tuttle to run FSA's mortgage business

FSA Group, which provides debt management and personal insolvency services as well as non-conforming mortgages and personal loans, has entered into an agreement with a management team led by former Pepper Group co-chief executive Patrick Tuttle, which will take over running FSA's mortgage business.

FSA has rebranded its mortgage business Azora Home Loans. Tuttle and his team, which includes former Pepper Group global head of credit David Holmes and former Virgin Australia group treasurer Philip Sullivan, have entered into a five-year agreement with FSA.

They have signed up for a five-year plan that includes growing the mortgage book from A$382 million currently to $1.5 billion, and growing the mortgage business's pre-tax profit from $5.9 million in 2018/19 to $20 million.

The company said in a statement to the ASX that it was working in an inaugural issue of residential mortgage-backed securities.

Current funding arrangements include a $375 million non-recourse home loan facility provided by Westpac and a $30 million mezzanine facility provided by an institutional investor.

Tuttle and his team will earn equity as part of their remuneration.

Tuttle, Holmes and Sullivan are all executive directors of Azora Finance, an asset finance company that changed its name to Little Lease Finance and Wholesale Rental Finance in 2017.

Any equity interest between Azora Finance and FSA is not spelled out in FSA's disclosure.

FSA is making a push into mortgages to compensate for a decline in its debt management services. It claims to be the biggest provider of informal arrangements, debt agreements, personal insolvency agreements and bankruptcy in Australia but last financial year its business suffered as "banks and other financial institutions adopted a softer approach to debt collection".

The company said this was a result of the Hayne royal commission. FSA suffered a 21 per cent fall in new clients seeking informal arrangements and debt agreements.