Today, Mortgage Express is pleased to announce it has completed the purchase of the first tranche at a consideration of around £260 million, under this agreement. This acquisition follows two mortgage portfolio acquisitions from GMAC-RFC totalling £1.12bn in September 2002 and March 2003.
The acquired loan portfolio, funded from internal resources, will increase Mortgage Express's managed assets, which stood at £7.9 billion on 31 December 2002, by around 3%. All lending in the portfolio is secured on UK residential property and has a similar credit risk profile to Mortgage Express's existing lending. In addition to reviewing the credit controls GMAC-RFC employed in originating the loan portfolio, Mortgage Express has tested the loan book using its own credit scoring process to confirm that it meets the Group's credit standards. The acquired mortgages are, by value, approximately 48% self-certified, 31% buy to let and the rest are standard mortgages. The book has an average loan size of £118,000 and an average loan to value of 72%.
Managing Director Tim Dawson said: "I am delighted that we have now successfully completed the acquisition of the first tranche of mortgages under this flexible agreement. It reinforces the mutually beneficial relationship we have forged with GMAC-RFC where we can harness their substantial mortgage origination capacity to complement our strong organic growth."
Stephen Hynes, Capital Markets Director of GMAC-RFC comments: "We are delighted to have concluded another transaction with Mortgage Express. As the leading creator and trader of mortgage assets in the UK, portfolio sales are a core part of our strategy. This technique is revolutionising the mortgage market, and we are proud to be leading this in the UK."
"It's a "win-win" situation for all parties involved; the intermediary; the customer and the acquiring lender", said Gina Collman, Head of Corporate Communications at GMAC-RFC. "We launch highly competitive products when the intermediaries and customers want them. We then sell on the resultant assets in mixed loan pools to the acquiring lenders, when they need them. These acquirers obtain additional valuable assets without any strain on their existing distribution channels or in-house processing. The customers benefit because the key terms of the loans remain unchanged, and GMAC-RFC's key terms are highly customer-friendly".
