News: LFS Consumer lender Latitude Financial jumps 15% on Australia debut

April 20 (Reuters) - Consumer lender Latitude Financial Services Australia's (LFS) shares jumped nearly 15% on its debut on the Australian stock exchange on Tuesday, after raising A$200 million ($155.96 million) through its initial public offering.

Latitude, which offers digital payments and a range of personal loans and credit cards in Australia and New Zealand, is listing at a time when the buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) space has surged in popularity as the COVID-19 pandemic drove increased online spending.

The company's BNPL product, "LatitudePay", will be competing in local markets with similar offerings from sector giant Afterpay (APT) , top lender Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) and U.S.-based PayPal PYPL.O .

With the jump in share price to as much as A$2.990 per share by 0356 GMT, Latitude now has a valuation of nearly A$3 billion, with one billion shares on issue.

Existing owners KKR KKR.N , Värde Partners and Deutsche Bank DBKGn.DE hold a 66.4% stake in the company after the listing, while Japan-based Shinsei Bank recently agreed to buy a 10% stake prior to the IPO.

According to recent filings, the company's total operating income was A$823.4 million for the twelve months ended Dec. 31, 2020, while it recorded a loss of A$32.6 million for the period.

($1 = 1.2824 Australian dollars)