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The latest Broker Pulse: Commercial Lending report by Agile Market Intelligence shows that while the big four banks dominate broker usage across most commercial lending sectors, mid-tier banks and non-banks lead in turnaround times and overall broker satisfaction.
Based on a survey of 122 active commercial brokers between 1 and 25 March, the report outlines key lender movements across commercial mortgages, business lending, and asset finance.
Majors retain top position on broker flows
Competition remains tight between Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) and National Australia Bank (NAB) across both commercial mortgages and business lending.
In commercial mortgages, ANZ led in February with 30.2 per cent of brokers lodging applications with the bank, followed closely by NAB at 29.7 per cent.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) and Westpac ranked third and fourth, respectively, with both receiving applications from roughly 19 per cent of brokers.
Non-bank lenders La Trobe Financial and Liberty Financial followed, with 12 per cent and 10 per cent of brokers lodging applications through these lenders.
In business lending, NAB and ANZ each accounted for 23 per cent of broker lodgements. Westpac ranked third, sitting 9 percentage points behind NAB, while CBA placed fourth with 13 per cent.
Judo Bank and Prospa followed, with approximately 12 per cent of brokers reporting loan submissions to each.
In asset finance, non-bank lenders were more prominent, with Metro Finance leading the segment at 33 per cent of broker applications. Westpac and Angle Finance followed at 32 per cent and 31 per cent, respectively.
Non-banks and mid-tiers lead on turnaround times
The report shows faster processing speeds among non-bank and mid-tier lenders across all segments.
In commercial mortgages, Macquarie recorded the fastest turnaround time at 2.9 days on a three-month rolling average. Pepper Money followed at 4.6 days, while ORDE Financial and Liberty Financial averaged 5.0 days.
Among major banks, turnaround times ranged from 5.2 to 6.1 days, with NAB recording the slowest processing time.
Business loan processing times were faster overall, particularly among non-bank lenders. Moula recorded the fastest turnaround at 0.7 days, while Dynamoney, Shift, and Prospa also ranked among the fastest lenders.
Major banks recorded turnaround times between 5.5 and 6.4 days in this segment.
Asset finance applications recorded the quickest turnaround times, with non-ADIs averaging 1.3 days, compared to 1.5 days for non-majors and 2.5 days for major banks.
Several non-bank lenders, including Firstmac, Autopay, Resimac, Pepper Money, Capital Finance, and Prospa, processed applications in under one business day. Metro Finance, Lumi, NOW Finance, and Flexi Commercial each recorded average processing times of around one day.
Broker satisfaction favours non-majors
Broker satisfaction data also favoured mid-tier and non-bank lenders.
Judo, Macquarie, and Suncorp recorded the highest satisfaction ratings for BDM support at 95 per cent, 94 per cent, and 92 per cent, respectively.
Among non-bank lenders, Metro Finance recorded 93 per cent satisfaction, followed by Flexi Commercial at 92 per cent, and ORDE Financial at 91 per cent.
Major banks recorded an average satisfaction rating of 83.5 per cent, with ANZ at 87 per cent, Westpac at 86 per cent, NAB at 84 per cent, and CBA at 77 per cent.
At the credit assessment stage, ING recorded a 100 per cent satisfaction rating, followed by Capital Finance at 94 per cent, and St.George at 92 per cent.
Among non-bank lenders, Flexi Commercial ranked highest at 95 per cent, followed by Metro Finance and Moneytech at 92 per cent.
Westpac recorded the highest satisfaction among the majors at 87 per cent, while NAB and CBA each recorded 81 per cent. ANZ recorded 69 per cent, the lowest among the major banks in this segment.
Recently, Broker Daily reported on what brokers value in a lender.
SMEs feel the squeeze
The findings come amid growing pressure on Australia’s small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Rising costs, subdued consumer demand, mounting regulatory pressure, and outstanding debts owed to the Australian Tax Office have all placed additional strain on SME cash flow, while the ongoing conflict in the Middle East has added further pressure.
Yesterday (1 April), the federal government announced that it has extended the small business responsible lending obligations exemption by 10 years as part of a support package for SMEs.
[Related: Brokers see more demand for business and commercial loans]
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