The latest broker recommendations: HSBC for pricing, Macquarie for speed, and Liberty for client fit

The latest Broker Pulse: Residential Lending data from Agile Market Intelligence reveals the key reasons why mortgage brokers are recommending specific lenders. This analysis of broker recommendations for the last 3 months highlight the lenders most commonly recommended by mortgage brokers driven by product pricing, turnaround times and client circumstances.

Key stats you need to know

• 92% of brokers who recommended Liberty Financial cited client circumstances as the primary driver.
  
  
• 90% of brokers who submitted applications to HSBC did so due to their product pricing.
  
  
• 64% of brokers who chose Macquarie Bank said their decision was based on turnaround times.

HSBC takes the pricing crown

• HSBC was the most cited lender for pricing, with 90% of brokers identifying it as their main reason for their recommendation. Newcastle Permanent and People’s Choice followed with 89% and 83% of brokers recommending them based on price, respectively.
  
  
• Bank Australia (77%) and ING (74%) also performed strongly on pricing considerations.
  
  
• None of the major players such as the big four, nor Macquarie made it to the top 10 recommendation based on product pricing.

Brokers continue to place significant weight on pricing, particularly in a rate-conscious environment. HSBC’s top position in the past 3 months signals their competitive pricing strategy is cutting through with intermediaries, along with other non-major players.

“While pricing alone doesn’t guarantee sustained market share, sharp pricing can drive immediate broker attention. Lenders then need to balance this with service delivery to maintain long-term relationships.” said Michael Johnson, Director at Agile Market Intelligence.

Macquarie continues to be recognised for speedy turnaround times

• Macquarie Bank maintained its lead for turnaround times, with 64% of brokers recommending it for this reason. BCU followed at 50%, and Advantedge at 41%.
  
  
• Among the major banks, Westpac (31%) and NAB (26%) make it to the top 10 lenders recommended by brokers based on turnaround times, albeit with modest figures.

Speed remains a clear differentiator. Macquarie is yet to be overtaken by any other lender in consistently delivering fast turnaround times. Even in the share of broker recommendations, Macquarie led by a full 14%. 

“Speed has remained a sharp differentiator. The consistency in Macquarie’s performance around turnaround times reflects investment in process efficiency that other lenders are still catching up to. ” said Michael Johnson.

Non-bank lenders excel for complex client scenarios

• Liberty Financial topped the list for client-specific needs, cited by 92% of brokers. La Trobe Financial (91%) and Pepper Money (90%) followed closely, along with Bluestone Home Loans at 89%.
  
  
• RedZed and Resimac also performed strongly in this category, both being recommended by 88% of brokers based on client circumstances.
  
  
• AMP Bank (73%) is the only ADI to appear in the top 10 lenders for client circumstances.

The specialist lending sector continues to carve out its niche by engaging with clients that fall outside the standard lending criteria. These lenders have built their competitive advantage around flexible policies and nuanced underwriting approaches that give brokers confidence when dealing with complex borrower situations.

“Non-traditional lenders have created a distinct value proposition around flexibility, providing solutions that traditional banks often can’t accommodate,” said Michael Johnson.

About Broker Pulse: Residential Lending

Broker Pulse is a monthly survey of residential mortgage lenders conducted by Agile Market Intelligence. It is a community-driven knowledge base of lender performance. Broker Pulse offers transparency to the market by surfacing these collective insights from the broker community. This empowers brokers to make informed decisions and enables lenders to benchmark and improve performance.

Participating brokers receive access to a bird’s-eye view of the lender benchmarking data each month. To sign up or for more information visit https://www.brokerpulse.com.au/.

Broker Pulse data presented here is based on responses from 858 residential brokers, collected between June to August 2025. Brokers were asked to share their experiences with the lenders they worked with throughout May to July, and their reasons for doing so. 

‍