Broker Pulse Commercial Lending wrap-up: September 2024

Last week, we shared the September 2024 Broker Pulse Commercial results. In that report, we included all the insightful data the Broker Pulse community of brokers shared.  This week, we’re sharing our high-level analysis of the month’s findings.‍

Broker Flows

Broker flows is the measure of broker-originated applications for the month—where the traffic of broker-originated applications is flowing within the lender market. 

When it comes to the most-used lender, NAB is leading the charge. NAB is the most-used lender for commercial mortgages and is tied for most-used lender for business loans.

The other major banks further dominate the most-used rankings. Commonwealth Bank, ANZ, and Westpac being the second-, third-, and fourth-most used commercial mortgage lenders respectively. 

In business loans, we still see major banks being the most common pathways for brokers, but Prospa is closely tailing Commonwealth Bank, showing that brokers aren’t married to the major lenders when smaller lenders might meet their needs just as well or maybe even better.

For commercial asset finance, Westpac stands out, with 43% of all brokers who submitted commercial asset finance applications working with this lender in the month of September 2024. However, Flexi Commercial and Angle Finance (two smaller lenders) are just behind, giving the major banks a run for their money.

Turnaround Times

Commercial mortgages

Major business banks (ADIs)

In September 2024, the average turnaround time for the major banks was 7.9 business days. Up from the previous period, with an average of 7.2 days in August.

The major bank with the best reported turnaround time was ANZ, with an average of 6.5 business days.

Business banks (ADIs)

The non-major banks performed slightly better in September, with an average turnaround time of 7.0 business days and the leading lender, St. George Bank, boasting a reported 5.3-day average turnaround time.

Non-bank lenders

The group with the most month-on-month change, non-bank lenders, had a reported average turnaround time of 7.8 business days. This is a note-worthy difference of 3 days more than the previous month, 4.8 days. The lender with the best turnaround time was ORDE Financial with 5.5 business days.

Business loans

Major business banks (ADIs)

Similar to their performance in commercial mortgages, the major banks had an average turnaround time of 7.5 days. ANZ is once again the leader, with an average turnaround time of 5.8 days, and NAB lagging with an average turnaround time of 9.3 business days.

Business banks (ADIs)

Business banks are demonstrating a concerning trend, with their average turnaround times for business loans increasing month-on-month. In September, the average was 7.4 days, up from August’s 6.2, which was up from July’s 5.4

Non-bank lenders

Within this category, only one lender is applicable, Liberty Financial, with an average turnaround time of 4.8 business days. 

Non-bank business lenders

Non-bank lenders continue their trend for the shortest turnaround time, at just 2 business days on average in September. OnDeck charges ahead, with an average of 1.2 business days.

Commercial asset finance

Major business banks (ADIs)

For commercial asset finance, the major banks tell a different story. Their average turnaround time is still, unfortunately, increasing month-on-month, at 2.7 business days on average for September (up from 2.5 in August and 1.9 in July). However, here Westpac is the fastest lender, with an average turnaround time of just 1.6 business days.

Business banks (ADIs)

On average, business banks had a turnaround time of 3.7 business days, however, this is affected by the disproportionate average between lenders. While Macquarie leads this category with an average turnaround time of just 1.2 business days, Judo Bank lags, with an average turnaround time of 7.5 business days.

Non-bank lenders

The most consistent grouping in average turnaround times, non-bank lenders sat at 1.6 business days, just a little faster than the previous month’s average of 1.7 business days. When turnaround times matter, non-bank lenders continue to show why brokers turn to them in commercial asset finance over major banks.

Non-bank business lenders

Another group with a quick average turnaround time, non-bank business lenders were able to deliver an initial credit decision just 1.5 days after application for commercial asset finance, on average. Like non-bank lenders, non-bank business lenders improved on their previous month, which had a turnaround time of 1.8 days. Metro Finance is ahead with an average turnaround time of just 1 business day.

Experience

Each month, brokers report their satisfaction with each stage of the process with a lender—application, assessment, settlement, and general BDM satisfaction. In our monthly report, we summarise the results into positive, negative and neutral satisfaction levels.

BDMs

BDMs are the first touchpoint a broker has with a lender and can directly impact the overall experience, however, the quality of these experiences varies greatly across each lender segment. Among the major banks, Westpac scored highest with 86% satisfaction, while Commonwealth Bank was rated the lowest at only 65% satisfaction, one of the lowest levels among all lenders. 

Application

Highlights in the application process include six non-bank business lenders earning ratings of 100% satisfaction (Lumi, Earlypay, OnDeck, Bizcap, Metro Finance, and Moula). However, lowlights include Bendigo Bank, with just 25% satisfaction scores. The major banks all performed relatively well in September in the application stage, with scores ranging from 73% to 91% satisfaction.

Credit assessment

Rating their experience with lenders in the assessment stage, brokers reported once more that some of the non-bank business lenders did extremely well, MoneyTech, Earlypap, and Moula all earning 100% rating, however, the group average for these lenders is brought down by Capify, at just 25% satisfaction. Business banks had the strongest grouping for this stage, with scores ranging from 67% up to 92%, with Judo Bank leading their peers.

Settlement

The final stage in the process is often front of mind when reflecting on the experience with a lender. The major banks may not be blowing brokers away with their settlement services, but as a group, they performed adequately in September, with satisfaction ratings from 69% to 87%. 

Once again, the group with the largest variance is the non-bank business lenders, with four ratings of 100% satisfaction (Earlypay, Bizcap, Metro Finance, and Lumi), but also satisfaction ratings of 50% (Capify) and 40% (Banjo Loans).

About this survey

This month, Broker Pulse surveyed 268 total brokers, with 116 active commercial brokers sharing their experiences. The survey was conducted between the 1st and 16th of October 2024 to uncover brokers’ experiences with lenders through September 2024. 

The survey asks participating brokers to share their experiences with the lenders they've used throughout the month. Brokers are asked to rate each lender's turnaround times, credit assessment staff, BDMs and their overall experience.

Broker responses are aggregated each month and distributed back to participating brokers and lenders to enable transparency across the market with the goal of improving consumer outcomes. This community-driven initiative is powered by brokers who want to unlock the collective experiences of their fellow brokers to make more informed decisions.