Citizens Brokerage, which is run by solicitor John Turrell on the North Shore sought a peer to peer licence after the rules around contributory mortgages changes.
Last year the era of lawyers' nominee companies providing mortgage finance ended when the exemption of lawyers and law firms who act as contributory mortgage brokers from compliance with the Securities Act (Contributory Mortgage) Regulations 1988 ceased.
Turrell currently he has a book of between $35 million and $40 million and mainly lends on residential property up to an LVR of 66%. Turrell offers one and two year finance and his highest rate is 7.5%
The lending tends to be in the Auckland area,
He said most of his lending business is originated through mortgage brokers, while funding comes from investors, mainly by word-of-mouth.
While getting a peer to peer licence was "a long-winded affair" it was the obvious thing to do. He says the business is operating just like it used to it just has more systems and processes around it.
The business was established in 2009.
