Yellow Brick Road plans to take advantage of the tightened investment lending market, eyeing a larger slice of the industry after building its strategy around a restricted market.
Meanwhile the group led by Mark Bouris said it broke even in the 2015 financial year and expects to report its first positive annual underlying earnings this August, with an expected figure of around $1 million a sharp improvement on last year's $5.2m loss.
The firm expects to post a sharply narrowed net loss of around $1m, up from last year's $8.8m.
Under the threat of regulatory heat, numerous Australian lenders have tightened access to investor loans, increasing interest rates and deposit ratios or, in the case of AMP Bank, freezing the issuance of new investor loans altogether.
The restrictions have been made in a bid to slow the growth in investor property portfolios to 10 per cent a year, in line with the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority's mandate. The Reserve Bank and APRA have been trying to soothe concerns of a speculative property bubble in Australian capital cities, fuelled by low interest rates and strong investor lending.
Yellow Brick Road executive chairman Mark Bouris said the firm has been building its strategy and business model around such a shift in the market.
However, the shift came earlier than the company expected, Mr Bouris said.
The firm's core owner-occupied market will increase off the back of consumer demand, Yellow Brick Road said, which it plans to support with "highly competitive rates" and a high media profile over the coming year.
"The investor market will tighten but we are well positioned to compete for quality loans," the company said.
The firm plans to bundle advice with lending, as increased complexity after the regulatory changes will encourage investment borrowers to seek advice, it said.
Higher capital reserve ratios for the major lenders are also going to benefit Yellow Brick Road.
Yellow Brick Road has the scale and capability to establish a securitisation platform, thanks to the takeovers of Vow Financial and Resi Mortgage Corporation, a move which will help the firm's funding options in mortgages and improve its margins.
"Furthermore, it will provide the capability for us to develop new offers to take to market, including personal lending," Mr Bouris said.
The lender said it is "poised with a platform two years in the making" that is expected to launch in December this year.
The lender also plans to enter the mortgage life insurance market with a "breakthrough" branded product in the December quarter.