ABN AMRO's private equity business in Australia has purchased a 39.2% stake in non-conforming lending specialist, Bluestone Group. The deal comes just a week after ABN AMRO's wholesale bank launched its own reverse mortgage product called Home Equity Access to be sold through financial advisors.
The deals are intended to fuel ABN AMRO's residential mortgage-backed securitization business which is under pressure as a slowing housing market in Australia brings with it a decline in traditional mortgage lending. The loans offered by Bluestone and Home Equity Access are extended to borrowers that do not meet the lending criteria of traditional institutions.
Tuesday's Bluestone deal sees...