Ex-NAB execs raise $15m to disrupt home loan market with new start-up Athena

Macquarie Capital and Square Peg are the lead investors in a $15 million funding round for fintech start-up Athena, which aims to use the latest technology to steal a march on the big banks in the competitive home loans market.

The firm purports to connect home buyers with loans backed directly by the superannuation industry and was founded by former NAB bankers Nathan Walsh and Michael Starkey.

They have built a cloud-based digital home loan platform, which they claim will save some borrowers currently with the big four banks up to $100,000 over the life of a loan.

The latest capital raise, which also had participation from Apex Capital and Rice Warner, follows an earlier seed round of $3 million in June last year.

The founders told The Australian Financial Review superannuation funds already had large investments in mortgages throughout the country, but these were “almost exclusively” through the banks.

“We’re a digital-first business so we don’t have any expensive branches or broker commissions,” Mr Walsh said.

“And thanks to the cloud-native nature of the platform, we can pass on savings to borrowers. For someone refinancing their loan, they can apply online and in 15 minutes be conditionally approved.”

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Source: Ex-NAB execs raise $15m to disrupt home loan market with new start-up Athena | afr.com