Latitude will list with goal of being a ‘great disrupter’ of banks

LATITUDE Financial chief executive Ahmed Fahour is looking not only to disrupt the major banks but also forge partnerships with them to offer more flexible consumer finance packages as Latitude finally makes its debut on the local stock exchange.

Latitude will list about one-third of its shares on the ASX on Tuesday after raising $200m from investors, valuing the company at $2.6bn.

For Mr Fahour, it marks the first time he has helmed an Asx-listed company in a career that has included running Australia Post, NAB’S and Citibank’s respective Australian operations, as well as a stint at Boston Consulting.

“At Latitude, nothing would give me greater pride than to see our potential realised as the great disrupter of the major banks,” he said.

But, Mr Fahour believes there is also room for Latitude and the big banks to do business together.

Already, Latitude provides personal and car loans to Kiwibank, owned by New Zealand Post. Mr Fahour believes Latitude could extend similar partnerships across Australia and beyond as the banks increasingly focus on their core business.

“There is an opportunity now that the major banks are starting to focus on their main game. Their main goal is either corporate and business lending, home loans or its deposits — that’s where 97 per cent of their assets are.

“The consumer finance side is 3 per cent of their business, and that requires a lot of investment. There is only one organisation that does not compete with them in home loans — we don’t compete with them in deposits, corporate and business lending — that they could do business with. I’d like to think we could help them.”

Latitude pulled its second IPO attempt in October 2019 after it failed to secure enough support. That came 12 months after it pulled its first IPO attempt.