First Mortgage Trust business lending overview.

First Mortgage Trust (FMT) is a Tauranga-headquartered contributory mortgage trust founded in 1996. Funding comes from a registered managed investment scheme of NZ retail and wholesale investors, deployed as registered first mortgages over commercial, residential investment, and small-development property. FMT is widely regarded as the largest non-bank first-mortgage lender in New Zealand.

FMT loan sizes commonly run from around $200,000 at the small end to $30 million-plus on larger commercial transactions. The loan-to-value ratio is typically up to around 65% on commercial owner-occupier property, up to around 70% on residential investment property, and up to around 60% on small-scale developments measured against completion value. Actual settings depend on the security and borrower profile.

FMT publishes indicative rate bands rather than a single advertised rate. Commercial owner-occupier first mortgages commonly price in the 8% to 10% indicative band, commercial investment property around 8.5% to 11%, and residential investment first mortgages around 8% to 10.5%. Pricing sits above main-bank commercial rates and well below short-term bridging rates. Actual rates are set after FMT credit assessment.

No. FMT is not a Reserve Bank-supervised registered bank and not a non-bank deposit taker under the Non-Bank Deposit Takers Act 2013. The trust is regulated as a managed investment scheme under the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013, the scheme manager holds a Financial Service Providers Act 2008 registration, and the underlying mortgage securities are registered under the Land Transfer Act 2017. The borrower-side experience is closer to a private-credit relationship than to a bank loan.

A clean commercial first-mortgage transaction commonly runs 4 to 6 weeks from initial conversation to drawdown, including registered valuation, AML/CFT verification, and solicitor-managed settlement. Bank-refinance transactions where prior valuation and serviceability evidence is already to hand can move faster. FMT does not run an online same-day path; relationships are managed by a lending manager.

Standard requirements include 12 to 24 months of financials for the borrowing entity, the application form and entity documents, an independent registered property valuation, director ID and NZBN registration, AML/CFT verification under the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009, insurance documentation over the property, and solicitor instructions. Personal guarantees from directors are standard on entity borrowers.

FMT lends across both. The commercial book covers owner-occupier and investor commercial property; the residential investment book covers single dwellings, multi-unit blocks, and small portfolios held for rental. Owner-occupied home lending (a borrower's primary residence) is typically a CCCFA-regulated consumer credit space and not the FMT focus, which is property held for business or investment purposes.

Main banks (ANZ, ASB, BNZ, Westpac) typically price below FMT on commercial property and offer a wider banking relationship. FMT is widely chosen where main-bank serviceability tests are tight, where speed-of-decision matters more than the lowest possible rate, or where a borrower wants a registered first-mortgage funding line outside the main banking system. The two are commonly used together: an FMT facility for 2 to 3 years, refinanced back to a main bank when serviceability resets.

On default, FMT's primary remedy is the registered first mortgage over the property under the Property Law Act 2007 and Land Transfer Act 2017. The trust can issue a Property Law Act notice and, where unremedied, exercise the mortgagee sale process. Personal guarantees from directors apply on entity borrowers. Working with FMT early on a temporary cash-flow setback is widely the cleaner outcome for both sides and is consistent with the trust's relationship-led approach.

Yes, bank refinance is one of the common FMT loan purposes. Typical triggers are a main-bank serviceability re-test, covenant tightening, or a property purchase where main-bank approval is delayed. The refinance pays out the existing lender directly through the borrower's solicitor; in many cases the borrower plans to refinance back to a main bank once serviceability or LVR resets, with FMT providing a 2 to 3-year bridge.

Interest on a loan funding a NZ business asset is generally deductible against business income where the asset is used to derive assessable income, subject to the accountant's confirmation on the specific business position and any interest-limitation rules that apply at the time. Residential investment property has its own interest-deductibility framework that has been progressively reset by IRD; the accountant is the right person to confirm the current treatment for any individual borrower.

FMT is headquartered in Tauranga, where the trust was founded in 1996, and has additional offices in Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch. Lending coverage is national; offices outside the head-office region tend to focus on relationship management with NZ commercial mortgage advisers, accountants, and solicitors rather than walk-in retail.