Record deal shows lender's growing pull with global investors
Metro Finance's latest asset-backed securitisation (ABS) deal has come in $200 million above its previous record, pricing at $1.2 billion in the lender's largest transaction to date.
Deal upsized on strong investor demand
The transaction launched at $750 million before investor appetite pushed it well beyond that initial target, with the AAA-rated senior notes pricing at 96 basis points. Thirty investors took part, drawn from Australia, the UK, Japan, Europe, the US, Asia ex-Japan, and New Zealand.
It's the 15th term ABS deal Metro has completed since launching its securitisation program in 2018, pushing the lender's total lifetime term issuance past $9 billion.
Metro Finance CEO David Albest (pictured) said the scale of the deal reflected the maturity of the business's capital markets strategy.
"Pricing our largest ever ABS transaction, and upsizing it well beyond initial launch volume, is a clear vote of confidence from the market in Metro's growth trajectory and the quality of our loan book," Albest said.
Funding to support broader origination growth
Albest linked the raise directly to Metro's wider strategy, pointing to the funding capacity it unlocks across the business's commercial, consumer and novated lending lines.
"This result gives us the funding capacity to support Metro's ongoing origination growth across our commercial, consumer and novated products," he said.
Albest added that the deal also reinforces Metro's recent move into dealer finance — a channel the lender entered in 2026 to widen its distribution footprint beyond its existing introducer network, broadening its distribution base across multiple channels in the process.
Global appetite for Australian auto and equipment ABS
Metro Finance treasurer George Pappas said the breadth of the investor base underscored rising international demand for Australian-originated asset finance debt.
"Thirty investors across seven regions, and pricing inside our expectations for a AAA-rated tranche, shows just how far Metro's reputation in capital markets has come," Pappas said.
For mortgage and asset finance brokers, the transaction points to deepening funding capacity behind one of the more active players in the asset finance space — a signal that the non-bank's product range and distribution channels are likely to keep expanding as it scales beyond its traditional introducer base.
That growth builds on an already substantial base: Metro has written more than $14 billion in loans for upwards of 120,000 customers since it was founded in 2011.
