(9 October 2007 – Australia) ANZ has decided to retain ownership of Origin Mortgage Management Services, its wholesale mortgage distribution business, due to current credit market conditions.ANZ has said that they have completed a strategic review of the options for Origin, and decided against selling to several unidentified third parties who had expressed interest.
An ANZ spokeswoman has said that ANZ had a clear view on the fair value of Origin and believed that an acceptable price was unlikely in today’s volatile conditions.
She has stated that current market conditions have also created opportunities for the Origin business that ANZ will now be looking to maximise.
Origin is a third party branded residential loans provider to 25 independent mortgage managers in Australia and five in New Zealand. The wholesale lender’s loan portfolio is worth approximately A$7 billion covering about 40,000 loans.