BNZ launches Founder Housing to help tech founders buy homes

Bank of New Zealand has launched Founder Housing, a home loan solution aimed at addressing challenges faced by tech founders in securing home ownership.

Traditionally, founders of high-growth tech companies in New Zealand have struggled to qualify for home loans due to conventional lending criteria, which count business losses against personal income, regardless of the overall health and backing of their businesses. This has resulted in many founders being rejected by lenders, despite their ventures attracting significant investment and demonstrating strong growth prospects.

Tim Wixon, Head of Technology Industries at BNZ, highlighted the recurring difficulties reported by entrepreneurs in the sector:

"We kept hearing the same story from tech founders and entrepreneurs. They'd built promising companies, secured investment, and were earning good salaries, but couldn't buy homes because traditional lending criteria didn't recognise the way high-growth tech startups operate. It just didn't make sense."

Emily Blythe, CEO of Pyper Vision, an aerospace startup that provides AI-driven fog forecasting technology, experienced this predicament firsthand. Despite her company having considerable backing and partnerships with airlines including Air New Zealand and British Airways CityFlyer, Blythe faced repeated home loan rejections under standard bank assessment processes.

"I had a stable salary and a consistent track record of Pyper Vision paying me, but that wasn't recognised by most banks," Blythe explains. "What was particularly frustrating was that two of my team had recently secured bank loans easily, but because they were employees rather than the founder, banks viewed their positions as more secure than mine."

During a three-month period, Blythe was turned down by eight banks. She also learned that this problem was commonplace among her peers.

"I spoke to other founders going through the same struggle who couldn't find a solution," she says.

"They were having their partners buy houses instead or setting up complex trust structures - anything to work around the system."

These difficulties stem from accounting practices common in the early stages of tech company development. Startups frequently prioritise investment in research and development, marketing, and expansion over profit, resulting in accounting losses that negatively impact personal financial assessments, even when the business is performing well overall.

BNZ's approach with Founder Housing is to consider company viability and growth alongside personal circumstances, recognising factors such as institutional investment and tailored growth metrics for assessment, rather than focusing solely on immediate profitability.

Wixon said, "It's about applying the right approach and metrics for this type of business model. A founder running an equity-backed company with strong growth metrics is often a very different proposition from what traditional lending criteria might suggest."

Blythe found the new assessment method a marked departure from previous experiences.

"It wasn't the standard black-and-white response of 'you're a founder, therefore we can't approve this.' BNZ actually evaluated both the company's financial position as a tech business and my personal circumstances together. It was a much more logical and rational approach."

Now able to purchase a home in Christchurch, Blythe notes the improvement to her quality of life and stability.

"Having my own home gives me the freedom to travel for work, knowing I have a secure base to return to. It's the first time I've felt properly grounded."

Her advice to others confronting similar challenges is: "I'd strongly recommend working with BNZ's team. The traditional banking approach to founders is just ridiculous."

Support for tech sector

The introduction of Founder Housing follows previous BNZ initiatives supporting tech businesses in New Zealand. The bank's earlier offerings include Revenue-Based Financing for SaaS companies and Contracted Receivables Financing for businesses in manufacturing, infrastructure, and biotech, allowing capital access based on signed contracts rather than profit levels. Recently, BNZ also launched fast-approval unsecured business loans of up to NZD $50,000, with approval times as short as three minutes, aiming to provide rapid access to funds when required.

Wixon commented on the broader intent of such measures:

"We've been working to rewrite the playbook for how banks can better support tech companies at every stage of their journey. Founder Housing is the natural extension of that work – supporting the founders themselves, not just their businesses."

This comes amid growing recognition of the need to foster innovation and competitive environments for economic growth. BNZ is positioning Founder Housing as a way to address the specific needs of founders while contributing to talent retention and development in New Zealand.

"We're proud to be the first major bank to turn this approach into a formal proposition," Wixon said. "By understanding the unique challenges these founders face, we can help them build personal assets while they continue growing their businesses here in New Zealand, helping to attract and retain talent in Aotearoa."