Belmont Green Finance, trading as Vida Homeloans, has issued the first European RMBS (Residential Mortgage-Backed Security) transaction of 2022.
The transaction, Tower Bridge Funding 2021-2, raised £400m from a mixed pool of buy-to-let and owner-occupied mortgages. It follows Belmont Green’s two 2021 transactions and was supported by Santander, Barclays, and Bank of America.
The transaction attracted strong investor interest, with the five classes of notes issued attracting more than £1bn of demand, including interest from a number of new investors to the programme. Belmont Green achieved its lowest cost funding to date, with the Senior Notes pricing at 72 basis points over Sterling Overnight Index Average (SONIA).
Belmont Green has also become the first UK issuer to publicly distribute the new industry standard ESG questionnaire, supplemented by a separate ESG presentation and EPC disclosures on the mortgage portfolio.
Anth Mooney, CEO, Belmont Green, said: “The specialist mortgage market continues to develop as we emerge from COVID-19, and customers subsequently reassess their living circumstances. This latest RMBS deal and our resulting lower cost of funding allows Vida to help more customers and in the longer term, supports our growth ambitions as we work towards seeking authorisation as a bank from the PRA.
“We welcome the increasing focus from investors on ESG matters, as they are a fundamental consideration in the way we run and grow the business.”
John Rowan, CFO, added: “The pricing of and strong support for our latest securitisation transaction clearly demonstrates investors’ recognition of the strength of our mortgage book and business.
“We are happy to welcome more investors to the platform and are encouraged by the strong demand to invest in Belmont Green transactions.”
