Our Backstory
Founded in 1999 by a group of ex-bankers from Durban-based NBS Bank, SA Home Loans has over the past 25 years firmly entrenched its position in the financial services landscape as the country’s largest non-bank mortgage provider, and a significant participant in its debt capital markets.

At the time of its formation South Africans were facing difficult times financially, with the Prime interest rate at 23%, an all-time high. SA Home Loans’ entry into the market brought much needed competition to the traditional banks and choice for consumers. With its team of dedicated home loan specialists and an innovative suite of products it was quickly able to establish itself in the market, saving consumers money through discounted interest rates and the ability to easily switch their home loan to access cash or secure a better deal.

SA Home Loans soon built a strong national brand and nationwide branch footprint enabling more than 300,000 South Africans and their families to become homeowners.

Pioneers In The South African Debt Capital Markets
A cornerstone of the business model was a belief that SA Home Loans could develop a platform to directly fund home loans at scale, allowing it to compete with the banks who funded their lending from customer deposits. To do this SA Home Loans pioneered a funding model known as “securitisation” in South Africa. The successful launch of its first securitisation in 2001 – named ‘Thekwini Fund 1’ in acknowledgement of its Durban heritage – was a milestone not only for the company but the industry.

This securitisation model for the first time provided a mechanism to successfully connect the capital held in the country’s pension and investment funds directly to the housing market to the benefit of many South Africans. As the first retail lender to fund itself at scale through securitisation SA Home Loans today retains its role as the leading securitisation issuer in the market – having raised more than R90 billion through its multiple award winning Thekwini Fund platform. Its Thekwini Fund 18 transaction was recognised by London’s ‘The Banker’ publication as Best Securitisation Deal in Africa (2023).

An Innovative But Focussed Product Offering
The company’s innovative spirit extends beyond its funding platform. It remains a distinguishing feature of its consumer facing products over the years.

As the only specialist home loan lender in the market SA Home Loans offers a range of home loan product options which suit the life stage and financial needs of its clients – be it:

• A standard amortising loan with an LTV of up to 100%
• Varying loan terms of up to 30 years
• Switching a home loan to consolidate more expensive debt or to access cash
• A specialised product such as the ‘Edge’ offering, allowing clients an option to pay only the interest on a loan for the first three years before the full instalment commences, providing cashflow relief in the early years of a new home with all the associated costs.

While the offering has remained home loan centric, a range of ancillary products has been developed to complement the home loan. These include a bridging finance product to provide clients who are switching their loan with access to cash; a personal loan product to fund transfer costs and related needs; and perhaps most notable two complementary insurance products – Home Owners Cover insuring the buildings against damage events, and a credit life product providing protection in the event of death and disability.

These insurance products are underwritten and administered in full by regulated and licenced insurance entities within the group. To date they have provided protection and relief to clients from day-today events, weather catastrophes like the recent KZN floods, and the pandemic.

Proudly KZN Born
As a nationally prominent business with deep KZ roots, proudly headquartered in Umhlanga, SA Home Loans occupies a unique position in the province as an Employer of choice for those looking for a career in financial services - be it retail lending, insurance or in the world of investment banking in our treasury teams.

Whilst having highly skilled teams of home finance specialist across its branch network, SA Home Loans has benefitted from its unique position in KZN and the deep pool of skills in the province. It boasts a team of over 700 employees performing sales, administration, and specialist roles across credit, IT, legal, finance, treasury, HR and insurance functions – providing a desirable workplace to those who see KZN as providing a lifestyle of choice.

Proudly Committed To South Africans
Buying a home is one of the biggest financial decisions that most South Africans will make in their lifetime.

SA Home Loans has a proud track record over 25 years of working with clients across all income and home value segments to make home ownership possible. As we look to the future our commitment to that purpose has not waivered.

We believe in the potential of our province and our country. We remain committed to do our part by enabling home ownership for thousands more South Africans.

We will continue to invest in our communities by supporting the poverty alleviation, education, youth, and enterprise development initiatives through our SA Home Loans Foundation.