Michelle Winzer, CEO, Heartland Bank Australia
Heartland Bank Australia is looking to diversify its lending book, but for now it is keeping its thinking to itself.
“Certainly we’ve got aspirations to grow our business” Michelle Winzer, the newly appointed CEO of Heartland told Banking Day.
New Zealand-based Heartland recently took control of Challenger Bank, following a short-lived an unsuccessful effort by Challenger to make its mark in retail banking.
For now Heartland Bank Australia’s business follows the same contours of its operation as a non-bank lender.
Heartland specialises in two niches: reverse mortgages and livestock finance.
“One way of describing our strategy” Winzer said “is as ‘best or only’, providing solutions that cannot easily be provided elsewhere.”
APRA data shows Heartland acquired a bank with around $630 million in assets and was overwhelmingly deposit funded.
Growing the deposit book is at the forefront of Heartland’s strategy for now.
Financial comparison website Savings.com.au shows Heartland is the price leader in term deposits, and the bank has been since it took control of Challenger Bank.
So, is Heartland attracting the hot money? we asked.
“We are” Winzer confirmed.
“Our history is we were wholesale funded, and retail funding is lower cost.”