DUBLIN, Ireland: Finance Ireland has secured more than 700 million euros in funding to ramp up lending for cars and commercial property, marking a strategic pivot as it steps away from the residential mortgage market.

The Dublin-based lender said it raised 359 million euros through a securitisation deal backed by car loans and a further 348 million euros from a commercial mortgage-backed transaction. The total of 707 million euros will support its expansion in asset finance and commercial real estate lending.

Investor appetite was strong, with demand for the bond "significantly in excess" of the company's target, it said in a statement.

"The strong pricing we achieved with these transactions shows a substantial vote of investor confidence in Finance Ireland," said Jim Hickey, the company's chief financial officer.

"We were pleased to see diverse and broad-based demand from a wide range of blue-chip international investors across multiple jurisdictions. The transactions will give us increased lending capacity as we continue to grow our business."

The fundraising comes as Finance Ireland confirmed its departure from the residential mortgage sector. The company entered the home loan market in 2018, becoming the first non-bank lender to do so following the financial crisis. However, in recent years, high interest rates have effectively pushed it out of the market.

Finance Ireland had struggled to compete with mainstream banks, which benefit from low-cost deposit funding. Chief executive Billy Kane has previously argued that banks are "actually cross-subsidising" their mortgage books using customer deposits—most of which are held in current accounts earning little or no interest—despite offering up to 3 percent on some savings products.

In contrast, non-bank lenders like Finance Ireland rely on wholesale and bond markets for funding—areas that have seen borrowing costs rise sharply in recent years due to European Central Bank rate hikes.

The company, which also specialises in SME and agricultural lending, is majority-owned by global investment firms M&G and Pimco, part of Germany's Allianz. Finance Ireland was founded in 2002.