New Zealand financial services company Heartland Group's local subsidiary, Heartland Australia Group, has established an Australian dollar medium-term note program and has completed its first senior unsecured bond placement.The A$50 million placement was taken up by "a key Australian institutional fixed income investor", according to the company's disclosure. The deal was arranged with the assistance of Westpac Institutional Bank.The proceeds of the first issuance will be used to fund Heartland's Australian reverse mortgage lending.Heartland detailed its local fundraising plans in its half-year financial report. As well as the medium-term note program, it is looking at establishing a warehouse facility.It got into the local reverse mortgage market in 2014, when it acquired Australian Seniors Finance. It believes there is good growth potential in the market, following the withdrawal of the last of the big banks (Commonwealth Bank) last October.