iscover 
Broker Pulse’s 2026 Third-Party Lending Report, which evaluates lenders over the past 12 months based on surveys of more than 700 brokers, found non-bank lenders recorded the strongest growth in broker usage, despite the major banks continuing to dominate the commercial lending channel overall.
Dynamoney came in second for growth, rising 12 percentage points, while Metro Finance grew its broker share by 10 points.
Meanwhile, broker usage declined across all four major banks.
While National Australia Bank (NAB) and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) remained the two most-used lenders, their usage dropped significantly.
ANZ fell from 45 per cent broker usage in 2025 to 34.16 per cent in 2026, while NAB declined from 37 per cent to 34.44 per cent, with the two trading places for this year’s top spot.
Non-banks followed, with Angle Finance recording 28 per cent broker usage and Pepper Money 25 per cent.
Westpac followed at 33 per cent.
Non-banks bump up tech and support satisfaction
Broker satisfaction increased across all four areas measured in the report – personnel, technology, products, and support – with technology and support recording some of the strongest gains.
Support ratings rose alongside improvements in broker communication, settlement, and post-settlement support, while technology ratings were lifted by stronger satisfaction with broker portals and digital tools.
Broker portal satisfaction increased from 73 per cent in 2025 to 76 per cent in 2026, while post-settlement support also rose from 73 per cent to 76 per cent.
Non-bank lenders performed particularly strongly across both categories, recording satisfaction ratings of 78 per cent for technology and support. Their performance helped lift the overall satisfaction ratings for all lenders in both areas.
Overall technology satisfaction increased from 76 per cent in 2025 to 77 per cent in 2026, while support rose from 75 per cent to 77 per cent.
Policy drives broker recommendations
Across all commercial loan types, product policy was the most important factor when recommending a lender to a client, cited by 93 per cent of brokers. Credit assessment followed at 92 per cent, then BDMs at 90 per cent, product pricing at 88 per cent, and settlement at 87 per cent.
The least important factors were call centres at 50 per cent, post-settlement support at 65 per cent, and broker communication at 73 per cent.
When split across lending segments, however, the most important factor for recommendations diverged.
For commercial mortgages, product policy remained the most important factor, while for business loans, credit assessment ranked first, followed by product policy. In asset finance, product pricing was the most important, followed by policy and credit assessment.
Brokers writing more asset finance and business loans
Commercial brokers wrote more asset finance and business loans in 2026, while the proportion writing commercial property loans declined.
The share of brokers writing commercial asset finance increased by 7 percentage points, from 54 per cent in 2025 to 61 per cent in 2026, while the share writing business loans rose by 5 percentage points, from 60 per cent to 65 per cent.
By comparison, the proportion writing commercial property loans fell by 15 percentage points, from 85 per cent to 70 per cent.
However, the report found signs of continued interest in the sector, with the proportion of brokers planning to write commercial property loans increasing by 3 percentage points. Interest in SMSF loans also increased by 2 percentage points.
Speaking to Broker Daily, brokers have commented on the growing interest in business loans, flagging a structural shift in the role and approach of those in the sector as business pressures and credit requirements shift.
Business banking boom
While residential mortgages slumped in the latter half of the financial year 2026, commercial lending has been booming.
According to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority’s (APRA) Monthly Authorised Deposit-taking Institution Statistics, business lending hit a six-year high of $1.26 trillion in June, with $20 billion added during the month.
Another report published by the Australian Banking Association (ABA) found 40 per cent of SMEs sought finance from their bank, while credit provided by banks reached a record $750 billion in April 2026, up from $567 billion in April 2023.
Banks have also recorded growth in their business lending books.
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s (CBA) business lending book increased by 13 per cent over the 12 months to June 2026, from $159 billion to $180 billion.
ANZ reported a 4 per cent rise in business and private bank loans over the June quarter to $71 billion, while NAB saw business lending increase by 2 per cent over the same period.
Judo Bank, which caters specifically to SMEs, reported an 18 per cent increase in its lending book to $14.7 billion for FY26, up from $12.5 billion in June 2025 and $6.1 billion in June 2022.
Total lending balances in business and agri lending at Adelaide and Bendigo Bank rose 8.2 per cent in the last half year, or $1.7 billion, from $16.8 billion in December 2025 to $18.5 billion at June 2026.
Non-banks have also seen strong growth.
In Liberty’s full-year report, secured originations, comprising commercial mortgages, secured SME loans, and motor finance, grew in 2H26 from just over $1 billion to $1.11 billion.
Resimac’s asset finance arm also saw assets under management increase 7 per cent year on year to $1.5 billion, while average AUM rose 17 per cent to $1.4 billion. Settlements and applications, however, dropped following the acquisition of Westpac’s auto portfolio in 2024.
[Related: Banks battle for SME lending as margins hit 5-year low]
Want to see more stories from trusted news sources?Make Broker Daily a preferred news source on Google.
