The Wisr Ltd (ASX: WZR) share price jumped by almost 10% this morning after the company announced an AAA rating for its asset-backed securities (ABS). Wisr shares have since pulled back slightly and are currently sitting at 28 cents, up 5.56%.
Wisr is an Australian non-bank lender offering competitive, personalised consumer loans.
The company offers an innovative feature to round up purchases to the nearest dollar, with the difference going towards your debt, Wisr loan or savings account. The rounding effect pays off debts faster, meaning less interest you'll have to pay over time.
WISR share price higher on ratings update
Wisr proudly announced the pricing of its $225 million of ABS. The WISR Freedom Trust 2021-1 is the company's first ABS transaction, with strong investor interest seeing all tranches significantly oversubscribed.
Global bond credit rating agency Moody's rated the company's top tranche as AAA, the highest rating with the lowest credit risk. The AAA rating signals the company is well-placed to repay short-term debt.
Wisr touted the rating as "exceptional for an inaugural issuer" and "providing strong external validation of the quality of the Wisr business operations and the underwriting platform".
Management commentary
Wisr Chief Financial Officer, Mr Andrew Goodwin commented on the exceptional result and strong investor demand:
This transaction signifies a coming of age for Wisr as the Company commences access to the global debt capital markets. We are extremely pleased with the market appetite. It's a very strong testament to the quality of the Wisr loan book and overall business. The strong demand and pricing achieved across all tranches reflects that investors continue to seek high quality assets originated by high quality companies
There is a huge opportunity in front of us to grow market share in-line with our risk appetite and this
transaction is an important and strategic step for Wisr. We're in a prime position to aggressively grow our
revenue with significant room to scale towards our medium-term target of a $1B loan book. We have the
right ingredients to deliver a highly profitable, differentiated business that is well capitalised and with
market leading metrics
The Wisr share price so far in 2021
The Wisr share price has increased an impressive 50% year-to-date. This is despite the broader S&P/ASX 200 Info Tech Index (ASX: XIJ) sliding 18% this year.
Other tech-enabled financing businesses, such as Moneyme Ltd (ASX: MME), have failed to deliver meaningful returns.
The Wisr share price has likely been supported by strong financial and operational updates including a 275% increase in 3Q21 revenues announced on 29 April.
The company's record 19 quarters of back-to-back growth, announced on 14 April, also shored up the Wisr share price.
