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In the year to June 2025, business lending has increased by 9.2 per cent, according to the latest Broker Pulse: Commercial lending from Agile Market Intelligence. This equated to a total of $1.14 trillion in lending.
In contrast, residential lending reached $2.34 trillion in the same period, a growth of 5.6 per cent.
The gap between the growth in business and residential lending is the widest since September 2022.
Since the back end of 2023, business lending has witnessed steady growth after periods of low activity.
The data further highlighted opportunities for brokers to diversify as business lending becomes increasingly popular.
Agile Market Intelligence director Michael Johnson said this return of confidence speaks to “resilience in the corporate sector”.
“There is now a contrast in behaviour, households are being cautious, while businesses are leaning in. For lenders, that means the growth story is shifting away from mortgages and toward business finance,” Johnson said.
Brokers are responding to these trends by diversifying. A study from the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) reported a record number of mortgage brokers are also writing commercial loans (31.54 per cent). This was up from 30.66 per cent as in March 2024.
The scales have shifted so much that commercial lending is now a “core part of broker operations,” Johnson said.
“We’re seeing commercial mortgages mature into a mainstay for the broker channel. What was once an optional add-on is now a standard part of a diversified portfolio.”
“Commercial capability is becoming a baseline expectation. By expanding your product set, it positions you to become relevant to the SME market,” Johnson added.
[Related: Almost a third of mortgage brokers also writing commercial loans]
