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The Broker Pulse: Commercial Lending report – conducted by Agile Market Intelligence in partnership with the Commercial & Asset Finance Brokers Association (CAFBA) – has revealed that commercial finance brokers believe the agricultural industry is leading the way in demand for commercial lending.
The report is based on a total usable sample of 133 active commercial brokers (surveyed between 1 and 25 October 2025) to calculate an index of market demand.
For this, Agile Market Intelligence asked brokers about which industries they had submitted loans for throughout September 2025 and took the portion of brokers expecting increased demand in the next three months and subtracted those expecting decreased demand.
According to the survey, the farming industry is expected to be the most hungry when it comes to borrower appetite, with a demand index of +45 for the December quarter.
The real estate industry and financial and insurance services sector followed closely behind, both at +43.
Notably, the latest survey revealed that brokers expect increasing demand from sectors that have not been particularly active over the year.
For example, the healthcare and financial and insurance services – segments that had been dwindling in recent months – were believed to be ramping back up. The healthcare sector had the steepest rise in the three-month demand index, at +41 in September, climbing 14 points since August and ending its six-month slump.
Brokers also believe borrowing demand from professional services will be strong, with the index continuing to rise, this time hitting +41.
While some sectors enjoyed strong recoveries, demand forecasts for many traditional and trade industries remain uncertain.
Traditional and trade industries, such as manufacturing, continue to exhibit dwindling projections.
The Broker Pulse: Commercial Lending survey showed that brokers expect borrowing demand to fall from manufacturers over the December quarter.
The three-month loan demand index for manufacturing dropped to its lowest level in six months, according to the broker responses, at +6. Indeed, the share of brokers expecting increased activity within manufacturing is now down to two in 10 – a 50 per cent fall from the previous reporting month.
The mining industry is also showing reduced appetite, according to brokers. Mining’s demand index fell to +14 and continues the downward trend that first started at the end of May.
Despite the end of the year being a busy time for those in retail, brokers do not expect a strong showing for loans in this sector.
The survey revealed that retail trade borrowing demand has yet to stabilise, as demand forecasts sit at +11, undoing gains from the previous reporting period.
Noting the findings, Michael Johnson, director at Agile Market Intelligence, commented: “We’ve seen fluctuating demand forecasts for the traditional and trade industries throughout the year. It’s quite possible that these are caused by these industries being more sensitive to international trade policies.
“September’s turning point for service industries suggests that businesses in this sector are showing greater resilience and appetite for capital investment. It’s a very different picture from the manufacturing industry.”
The findings come as business sentiment continues to improve. Earlier this week, new research from SME lender Judo Bank revealed that many small businesses have an optimistic outlook for the future.
More than four in five SMEs reported they felt their business was in stable or strong health.
This represented a 7 per cent jump in the number of businesses reporting strong health compared to the last cut of data released in February 2025.
Meanwhile, almost seven in 10 (68 per cent) of SME owners surveyed said they felt confident about business growth in the next year.
The research also provided some insight to expansion and growth plans of business owners and noted they were more prevalent among younger business owners.
[Related: SME confidence up as conditions stabilise: Judo Bank]