Insights from our CEO, Daniel McGrath, featured on The Mortgage Magazine podcast.
Xceda has been part of New Zealand’s financial landscape for more than 35 years. From our origins in Whakatāne to our newly opened Queen Street office in Auckland, our journey reflects how the industry is changing, and how Xceda is helping shape that future.
Recently, our CEO Daniel McGrath joined the TMM Better Business podcast to talk about where Xceda is heading, what’s shifting in the market, and how we’re redefining what it means to be a non-bank lender and licensed deposit taker in New Zealand.
You can listen to the full podcast here.
Here’s what you need to know:
Founded in 1989, Xceda originally focused on personal lending and motor vehicle finance. Today, we’re firmly positioned as a mortgage-backed lender, specializing in areas that banks often won’t go, like short-term bridging, property investor lending, and soon, a niche home loan product.
We’re also proud to be one of only 14 licensed non-bank deposit takers (NBDTs) in New Zealand, regulated by the Reserve Bank. We’re fully funded by over 2,000 Kiwi depositors, not institutional or wholesale investors. This gives us flexibility to support a broader range of borrowers.
As of 1 July 2025, all licensed deposit takers in New Zealand, including Xceda, are covered by the Depositor Compensation Scheme. This gives our customers added confidence which in turn supports a growing and more diverse range of lending solutions.
Read More Here - https://www.xceda.co.nz/depositor-compensation-scheme.
With the Official Cash Rate dropping from 5.5% to 3.25% in the last 12 months, the lending market has seen some significant shifts.
While banks remain dominant in the prime lending space, macroprudential tools like DTI (Debt-to-Income) and LVR (Loan-to-Value Ratio) restrictions create opportunities for non-bank lenders like Xceda to serve customers that banks often turn away.
Because we are not subject to those restrictions, Xceda can provide more pragmatic, flexible solutions, especially for customers who fall just outside traditional lending criteria.
We’ve built our mortgage business around solutions that meet genuine gaps in the market:
Bridging Loans (3–24 months): Ideal for short-term funding needs, particularly for property investors.
Property Investor Loans: A new 30-year product for buy-to-let customers seeking longer-term flexibility.
Niche Home Loans (Launching 2026): Tailored for customers who are often asset-rich but income-light, like over-50s, retirees, or self-employed borrowers who don’t meet bank criteria.
These are designed to support real-world financial goals and respond to situations where banks simply say no.
Xceda is subject to the new COFI (Conduct of Financial Institutions) regime, which governs our approach to customer care and fairness. We welcome the framework as it formalises what ethical lenders have been doing all along.
We also support the recent windbacks to CCCFA rules. These changes have helped bring balance back to responsible lending and enable better access to finance for New Zealanders without compromising protection.
We’re continuing to invest in new products and digital infrastructure to better serve both borrowers and depositors. One area of future opportunity is developing offerings that combine lending and deposit features, such as offset accounts or tailored solutions for savers with lending needs.
New Zealand’s non-bank mortgage lending market currently represents just under 2% of the total residential lending pool, compared to 8–10% in Australia. There’s huge potential for growth, and we’re here to help lead that change.
Our lending is distributed primarily through mortgage advisers, and we’re committed to providing real solutions, responsive service, and product education. With our expanding range of lending products and a strong retail funding base, we’re well positioned to support advisers with competitive, customer-focused alternatives to the banks.
Whether it’s a customer seeking short-term flexibility, a long-term investor loan, or a more tailored home loan scenario, Xceda is ready to help.