BARRY This goes to a lot of what has been already discussed on investor knowledge of the sector and of the asset class. We are in a globally low interest-rate environment, so it is no surprise to us that private equity has seen this as a good opportunity.

There won’t be a substantial correction in prices. Nonbanks will probably continue to take back market share, in line with a dynamic that has played out in other markets. We are delighted to have Blackstone Group (Blackstone) on the share register and we are not surprised there has been other interest.

MARSDEN We haven’t done anything at the corporate level with private equity but we have traded collateral both ways with one of the larger private-equity firms active in this market.

One thing this has done, particularly in some of our discussions with larger offshore asset managers, is give validation to the sector in Australia. Three of the more successful credit private-equity firms taking up platforms in the market tells you they can get the numbers to work and there is a longer-term view of the viability of the sector. We have all been benefactors of this in some way or another.

PLOUGHMAN A comment was made to us [at the European securitisation conference] in Barcelona that if private equity is buying in it must be a good sector, because it is smart money. When it first happened, with KKR & Company (KKR), we thought there may be concerns around whether calls would be met. But this hasn’t eventuated.

BARRY We haven’t changed credit policy at all following the ownership change. Our basic business model is to continue as is and try to capture some of the growth we have all been experiencing.

Blackstone didn’t put any additional equity into the La Trobe Financial group. Investors take comfort that we have been through due diligence with the biggest private-equity firm in the world and that this is a good validation of our business model.

The backing of a big private-equity firm would give investors confidence should we ever need capital or find it difficult to meet a call.

PLOUGHMAN The interesting point is that you are not going to be funding mortgages with private-equity capital. You will still be subject to the important governance which sits around wholesale funding markets.

BARRY It gives investors a degree of confidence that comes with having a strong majority shareholder. We still have very high standards and continue to operate under our historically disciplined strategy which covers more than A$14 billion (US$10.2 billion) of loans.

MARSDEN Another factor from a comfort perspective is that we have seen how these private-equity firms have behaved in the UK, having arrived in 2012 and purchased origination and servicing platforms.

These issuers have maintained and actually increased the size of their securitisation programmes while maintaining integrity by meeting calls. This is a good indication of how private-equity-owned firms can be expected to behave here.

BARRY Investors recognise that the old private-equity model was to lever a business, see it grow and then flip it. The new private-equity model, after the financial crisis, is to buy high-quality, annuity-style businesses and hold them for a long time.

PLOUGHMAN Because we have a single shareholder with 63 per cent, it is more that the stock is quite illiquid. We have had almost 100 per cent turnover of the original Homeloans shareholders. That was very much a business in decline and it was as much a yield play as anything.

We didn’t raise any capital, so anybody who already owned now has shares that are worth more. We haven’t had any issues.

The new shareholders we see understand the sector. Some had bought into Pepper Group and were disappointed with the KKR buyout. They see and understand this part of the market.

We spend a lot of time doing roadshows with equity investors, which is very different from doing debt roadshows. The equity side is much more focused on the years to come and how we intend to build market share.

One thing I would say is if we didn’t want to raise capital I would not stay listed – because there isn’t any value. The only thing I can think of is that there are a couple of investors in the US and Asia that will buy our paper because we are listed.

But all of us already have strong governance in our businesses because of warehousing and the rating agencies.

The scrutiny we get from the Australian Securities Exchange is nothing compared with the scrutiny we get from rating agencies, but it is seen globally as a benchmark and I suppose it does open us up to some more investor mandates.