New rates to drive an explosion in online lending

Australia’s largest online lender loans.com.au has moved to dramatically expand the online lending market by offering an attention-grabbing interest rate of 3.39 per cent (comparison rate 3.41 per cent) for home purchases.
 
Founder Kim Cannon said the special rate, which will be available for a limited time, would ensure the option of borrowing online from loans.com.au could not be ignored by any homebuyer during the spring buying season.
 
“We are aiming to make homebuyers reconsider the ingrained idea that walking into a bank is the natural way to get a home loan,” Mr Cannon said.
 
“The fact is that borrowing online from loans.com.au is quicker, easier and cheaper so that should be the first stop for anyone looking to buy a home.”
 
Mr Cannon said loans.com.au was offering radically cheaper rates than the banks to force a shift in how people think about home loans.
 
“These rates are almost 2 per cent less than the big banks headline rates so you have to ask why anyone would even consider borrowing from the banks instead of coming to loans.com.au,” Mr Cannon said.
 
“Online lending is currently 5 per cent of the Australian market but with rates like these loans.com.au is aiming to drive it to 25 per cent and beyond - fast.”
 
The Big 4 banks’ standard variable rate to owner occupiers with an offset account currently averages 5.26 per cent (comparison rate 5.39 per cent). Loans.com.au’s new rates for property purchasers are:

 
Mr Cannon said that loans.com.au offered the free property reports and other services that the banks were promoting but with much low rates.
 
Loans.com.au offers innovative online finance products backed by Firstmac, Australia’s largest non-bank lender, with 38 years’ experience and $8 billion in mortgages under management.