The digital non-bank lender markets itself as “reimagining” home loans. Athena specialises in home lending only, with a stated mission to put home loan power back in the hands of its customers.

Athena was founded in February 2019 by two former senior executives of NAB Nathan Walsh (CEO) and Michael Starkey (COO) who aimed to shake-up the market share of the big four banks. The lender was backed by high-profile investors including Square Peg Capital, AirTree Ventures, Macquarie Bank, AustralianSuper, and Hostplus.

Athena quickly established a reputation for offering low interest home loans with fast processing times and for swiftly passing on cash rate cuts, winning numerous industry awards along the way.

However, its growth trajectory slowed amid the so-called ‘mortgage wars’ of the post-pandemic period when many lenders aggressively dropped interest rates and offered cashback deals in a bid to lure new and refinancing customers.

In September 2024, online property company REA Group acquired an almost 20% stake in Athena.

Mr Walsh welcomed the partnership, saying Athena remained committed to continuing its mission of changing home loans for good for all Australians.

“We are focused on helping Aussies pay off their home loan faster and saving themselves a bucket load in the process,” he said.

What home loans does Athena offer?

Athena offers variable and fixed home loans for both owner-occupiers and investors, who can choose between principal and interest (P&I) and interest only (IO) repayment options.

Athena’s home loan products are as follows:

  • Straight up (basic home loan)

  • Power up (variable-rate loan with multiple features)

  • Fixed-rate loans (for one to three years)

All Athena loans come with no fees and the ability for borrowers to get a lower interest rate according to their loan-to-value ratio (LVR). (More about Athena’s AcceleRATES feature below.)

However, qualifying for an Athena home loan requires borrowers to have at least a 20% deposit or equity, since it only offers home loans to those with LVRs of 80% or less.

Here’s a selection of Athena’s current home loan offerings.

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LenderHome LoanInterest Rate Comparison Rate* Monthly Repayment Repayment type Rate Type Offset Redraw Ongoing Fees Upfront Fees Max LVR Lump Sum Repayment Additional Repayments Split Loan Option TagsFeaturesLinkComparePromoted ProductDisclosure
5.99% p.a.
5.99% p.a.
$2,995
Principal & Interest
Variable
$0
$0
50%
6.24% p.a.
6.10% p.a.
$2,600
Interest-only
Variable
$0
$0
80%
6.34% p.a.
6.31% p.a.
$3,108
Principal & Interest
Variable
$0
$0
70%
6.39% p.a.
6.29% p.a.
$2,663
Interest-only
Variable
$0
$0
80%
Important Information and Comparison Rate Warning

Rates correct as of . View disclaimer.

Important Information and Comparison Rate Warning

What are some features of Athena’s home loans?

Redraw/Offset

All Athena’s variable loans come with a redraw facility, allowing customers to pay make extra repayments on their home loan while still having access to their extra funds at any time.

The Power Up loan also comes with a linked fee-free offset account - in fact, the ability to create up to 10 linked offset accounts - as well as the ability to split the loan into part-variable and part-fixed rate portions.

Both variable loan products allow unlimited extra payments while fixed rate loans permit up to 5% of the outstanding loan balance in extra payments per year.

AcceleRATES

Uniquely, many of Athena’s home loans come with the so-called AcceleRATES feature where, as borrowers pay down their loan, their interest rate is automatically lowered to reflect the LVR tier they fall into.

The four catchily named tiers - ‘Liberate’ (70-80% LVR), ‘Evaporate’ (60-70% LVR), ‘Celebrate’ (50-60% LVR or lower), and ‘Obliterate’ (0-50%) - are also what sets a borrower’s starting rate. (Note: the AcceleRATES feature doesn’t apply to all home loans.)

The rate drops apply automatically as borrowers pay off their loans.

Automatic rate match

Athena was the first lender in Australia to announce what it calls an ‘automatic rate match’ where existing customers are never charged higher interest rates than new customers on like-for-like loans. In practical terms, it means customers who’ve been diligently paying off their home loans aren’t subsidising low rates for others in the quest to win new business.

“The bottom line is, if we drop rates for new customers, we’ll automatically drop them for existing customers on like-for-like home loans,” an Athena spokesperson said.

“The Australian home loan industry is flawed and it's common practice that existing customers are funding lower new customers rates.”

According to Athena, this so-called “loyalty tax” is costing Australian home loan customers up to $4.5 billion a year.

No Fees

Athena charges no fees for being its customer. That means no application fee, monthly fee, annual fee, redraw fee, or any other type of fee (apart from unavoidable government fees and charges of course). However, Athena may pass on the costs of breaking a fixed loan contract. Also, third party charges can apply when borrowers are buying a property or refinancing, but these aren’t charged by Athena.

Flexible repayments

Athena customers can make weekly, fortnightly or monthly repayments and, on variable loans, they can make additional repayments as often as they’d like. Both of these options can save considerable money and time over the life of a loan.

Quick refinancing

Athena entered the market with the aim of shaking up the refinancing space. One of its promises was to provide a quick response to refinancing applications. Today, Athena boasts it can get a quote to a prospective refinancer in under five minutes while those applying online can go through a 15-minute application process and get a decision in 60 seconds.

How is Athena different from the big four banks?

“We don’t have the branches, we don’t have the bankers, we don’t have the overhead, and we’re able to take all those savings and pass the benefits of that through to customers in terms of better rates,” he said.

Athena makes no apology for its contrast to the big banks. The tone of its marketing is relaxed and straightforward and the company also boasts B-Corp certification, awarded to businesses that meet high standards of social and environmental performance.

Mr Walsh said this tone is a deliberate strategy to be simple and transparent with people.

“Ultimately, we want to be authentic to the way customers are actually talking about their experience with a home loan.

“I think there's some real frustration out there with existing lenders.

“We’re simply: let’s just be straight with customers; here’s what we do, here’s the benefits of that, let’s represent very clearly who we are and what we believe.

“We’re actually pretty passionate about our mission, about helping out Aussies pay off their home loan faster. We really want that to come through and influence the way we talk to customers.”

Athena states that losing the big bank costs and complications allows the non-bank to slice a ‘pretty huge' chunk of time and money off every loan. It estimates its customers save $60,000 over the life of the loan when they make the switch to Athena.

Mr Walsh said Athena wants to change the mindset of Aussies who are typically apathetic around saving money by improving financial literacy.

“It’s very easy to underappreciate just how the compounding effect of that interest differential leads to very large numbers,” Mr Walsh said.

“People get really surprised when you’re talking about savings like $60,000 when that might be a differential of, say, half a per cent on the loan.” 

Am I eligible for an Athena home loan?

If you’re looking into applying for an Athena home loan, the lender has eligibility requirements that must be met, including the big one:

  • You must have at least a 20% deposit (80% LVR)

  • In certain cases, a 30% deposit may be required depending on where the property is, what type it is, or if it’s valued over $2.5 million.

There are also some other conditions borrowers must meet:

  • Must be an Australian resident

  • Have their own mobile phone number

  • Have their own email address

  • Be prepared to receive, sign, and share all documents and communications electronically

Athena will also consider home loan applicants who are self-employed or earning casual income on a case-by-case basis. If Athena can’t give you a loan according to its lending criteria, it promises to help you find a loan with another lender, doing the search, paperwork, and negotiations on your behalf.

How to refinance with Athena

To get started with your home loan application, you can head to Athena’s website - www.athena.com.au. You can also speak to an Athena loan expert on 13 35 35 weekdays between 9am-5pm AET.

To get started, you’ll need:

  • the address of the property (if applicable)

  • the amount you’d like to borrow

Documents needed

As the process gets to credit check stage, you’ll likely need the following:

  • A form of ID – Drivers' license, Australian Passport, Medicare card

  • Income and employment details – your two most recent pay slips

  • Other sources of income such as investments, term deposits, superannuation, or rental income

  • Assets and liabilities

  • A breakdown of your living expenses

  • The most recent statement of any current home loan you’re looking to refinance

    First published on October 2021

    Image: Athena co-founders CEO Nathan Walsh (left) and COO Nathan Starkey (right)



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