Office address: Level 40, Riverside Centre, 123 Eagle St, Brisbane, QLD 4000
Website: www.firstmac.com.au
Year established: 1979
Company type: financial services
Employees: 550+
Expertise: home loans, investment products, car loans, and term deposits
Parent company: N/A
CEO and key people: Kim Cannon, Founder and Managing Director
Financing status: -
Firstmac is one of Australia’s leading non-bank lenders. As a 100% Australian-owned entity, Firstmac has successfully funded over 130,000 home loans for the past 45 years. As of June 2023, Firstmac has over $15 billion in loans under management.
The origins of Firstmac trace back to the entrepreneurial spirit of its founders, who, armed with nothing but a blue IBM typewriter and a vision, embarked on a journey that would change the mortgage sector.
Initially focusing on finance applications for earthmovers and drillers in Queensland, Firstmac's evolution was marked by strategic moves into the Queensland Secondary Mortgage Market and commercial lending.
Recent milestones in Firstmac’s history include issuing the country’s first Green Bond for energy-efficient homes and hitting the $2 billion mark for an RMBS issue.
Today, Firstmac is the 12th largest home lender throughout Australia. It was an excellence awardee for the Australian Mortgage Awards in 2022.
Firstmac's product suite is designed to meet the diverse needs of its customers, with a focus on home loans. Among its products and services include:
Firstmac prides itself on a culture of innovation, collaboration, and excellence. With a team comprising lending managers, support staff, accountants, analysts, marketers, IT professionals, and customer care representatives, Firstmac fosters an environment where innovation thrives. Notably, the company boasts a gender-balanced workforce, with 51% of roles held by females, including a 50% female executive team.
Kim Cannon, the visionary behind Firstmac, has been a figure in the Australian finance industry for over 40 years. Cannon has played a critical role in challenging the banking industry, making home loans more accessible and competitive. Thanks to Cannon’s leadership, Firstmac is one of the few non-bank lenders in Australia that survived the Global Financial Crisis in 2007.
Before setting up Firstmac, Cannon was founder and CEO of Lease Nationale (1979-1987) and Queensland State Home Loans (1988-2000).
Firstmac's journey from a humble start-up to a leader in non-bank lending is a compelling narrative of innovation, resilience, and commitment to excellence. As the company looks to the future, its foundational principles of providing competitive, customer-focused financial products remain central to its mission, ensuring Firstmac's continued success and impact on Australia's financial landscape.
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