Street Talk

Non-bank lender Wisr lays off 40 staffers

Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport

Apr 3, 2023 – 1.13pm

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Times are tough at non-bank lender Wisr after the ASX-listed group laid off one-fifth of its workforce as it battles high funding costs, high inflation and intense competition in the mortgage market.

It’s not the first time Wisr has downsized. In September, the company let go 30 employees. This time, the redundancies have come for 40 staff. Sources said that about half of those dismissed this week were part of the loan application decision-making team. That would point to a decline in operations, although this is disputed by some close to the company.

Sarah Thompson has co-edited Street Talk since 2009, specialising in private equity, investment banking, M&A and equity capital markets stories. Prior to that, she spent 10 years in London as a markets and M&A reporter at Bloomberg and Dow Jones.

Kanika Sood is a journalist based in Sydney who writes for the Street Talk column.

Emma Rapaport is a co-editor of the Street Talk column. Prior to that, she was a markets reporter at The Australian Financial Review.