The Brief:
Blackstone is buying HSBC Australia’s home loan book for $36bn, making it the largest sale of its kind globally.
Mallesons advises Blackstone and Pepper Money, Allens acts for HSBC and Corrs lands the securitisation mandate.
Blackstone has agreed to buy HSBC Australia’s home and personal loan portfolio for around $36bn. It’s the largest home loan portfolio sale globally, and the biggest deal announced in Australia this year.
The deal
HSBC confirmed the sale on 31 July, with the deal expected to generate “an immaterial loss” to the bank.
The rest of its Australian retail business, transaction accounts, savings, credit cards, wealth products, will be wound down over 18 months. HSBC is keeping its Corporate and Institutional Banking, Private Banking and Asset Management arms.
The sale process stalled early on, hampered by a shortage of bidders with a retail banking licence and fears of client unrest on an ownership change. HSBC fixed that by pulling the retail bank out of the sale, leaving just the mortgage book on offer. That suited Blackstone, which has no existing Australian mortgage business and a much easier run at APRA and ACCC approvals.
Blackstone has lined up over $30bn in senior debt, structured as a privately offered residential mortgage-backed securitisation. ANZ and NAB are in the debt stack alongside BNP Paribas, Natixis, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, RBC Capital Markets and Standard Chartered.
Pepper Money will service the book once the deal completes, expected in the first half of 2027.
Who’s acting
Mallesons is advising Blackstone, while HSBC has Allens on its side.
Mallesons ran two workstreams.
Partners Henrik Moritz, Mark Vanderneut and Ian Edmonds-Wilson led the consortium financing, backed by partners Kate Jackson-Maynes, Mandy Tsang, Lizzie Knight, Wayne Leach, Jennifer Barron and Bryony Evans.
A separate team, led by Anne-Marie Neagle, Joseph Muraca, Kirsten Bowe, Kirsty Faichen and Kathryn Tomasic, advised Pepper Money on its servicing appointment, building on the firm’s earlier role on the RAMS deal.
Corrs Chambers Westgarth landed the mandate for the Arrangers, Joint Lead Managers and Dealers on the securitisation funding. Banking and finance partner Matthew Kaminsky, fresh off a move from Mallesons, led alongside senior associates Andrew Chong and Jenny Guo, and tax partners Cameron Blackwood and Simon Mifsud.
Mallesons already claimed top spot by deal volume in Mergermarket’s Australasian H1 2026 league tables. A mandate this size should help it hold that lead into H2.
What they said
Mallesons’ Mark Vanderneut said:
“This is a significant transaction for Australia’s residential mortgage market, combining global private capital with an established Australian servicing platform. The scale of the portfolio, the financing structure and the number of stakeholders involved required careful coordination across a range of commercial, legal and regulatory workstreams.”
Corrs’ Matthew Kaminsky said:
“We are thrilled to advise our clients on this landmark transaction – positioning the Arrangers, Joint Lead Managers and Dealers at the forefront of large-scale Australian portfolio transactions.”