RHG runs out of funding options
The wholesale funders of RHG Group may be unwilling to extend warehouse facilities, and in turn may end up owning the relevant home loan pools outright.RHG, the former Rams Home Loans Group, advised through the ASX yesterday that, while in discussion with various warehouse providers, "a high level of uncertainty remains in the current market which will likely result in the group selling further mortgages at par in repayment of facilities".The company said it had $8.36 billion funded through warehouses at June 2008 (most of which are due to be refinanced this year) and a further $3.18 billion funded through mortgage-backed securities.The rump of the RHG mortgage portfolio under management fell by $2.9 billion, or 20 per cent, over the six months to June, though this would include $1 billion in loans sold to National Australia Bank in February as part of refinancing loans funded in the commercial paper market.It isn't clear if RHG negotiated a restructure of two series of mortgage-backed bonds as flagged in May, but probably not, which means RHG is paying higher interest spreads on around $600 million of mortgage-backed securities in line with the original terms when the securities were sold to investors in 2001 and 2002.RHG also published an unaudited profit for the year to June 2008 of $124 million, which includes a profit of $103 million from the sale of the Rams brand and franchise network at the beginning of this year to Westpac.The company also announced plans to buy back up to 10 per cent of its shares over the next year, the first step in its plans to return capital to shareholders in what amounts to a liquidation of RHG.The company estimated net assets at June 2008 of $118 million, and notional net assets per share of 19.9 cents, though whether all assets connected to servicing the remaining mortgage pools can be realised is doubtful. Shares in RHG eased to seven cents yesterday.