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Commercial credit demand in August 2025 was 4.7 per cent higher than in August 2024, according to Equifax’s Business Pulse.
Year-to-date demand for commercial credit is up 2.7 per cent compared to the same period last year.
Between August 2024 and August 2025, the difference in commercial credit for each category was:
- Business loans: Up 7 per cent
- Asset finance: Up 3 per cent
- Trade credit: Down 2.3 per cent
While these trends highlight increased investment from businesses, it hasn’t come without some challenges.
As of July, the average days beyond terms (how many days late businesses are paying their suppliers) were four days. This was up 17.9 per cent from July 2024.
The industries with the highest days beyond terms were:
- Rental, hiring, and real estate services: 8.22 days
- Construction: 8.15 days
- Professional services: 4.75 days
- Mining: 3.84 days
Despite the increase in the year to July, days beyond terms between January and July were 17.1 per cent lower than the same period in 2024, sitting at an average of 3.5 days.
According to Brad Walters, Equifax’s general manager of commercial, business investment has been strong in 2025 as owners look to grow and scale.
Many, however, are using these funds to simply stay afloat as economic uncertainty plagues industries.
He said the rise in days beyond terms is concerning, especially for the construction industry.
“We know from the latest iCIRT consumer research that nine in ten Australians are concerned that builders will cut corners to reduce costs or deliver homes faster, and half (51 per cent) are more concerned about builders going bust before completing a project than they were a year ago,” said Walters.
“Construction days beyond terms sitting at 8.15 days suggests ongoing cash flow issues, and could be seen as a concerning sign by already worried consumers.”
With three lots of interest rate relief coming in 2025 and some predicting more at the November RBA monetary policy meeting, the concerning days beyond terms data could turn around.
[Related: How tech is delivering certainty to business borrowers]
