Which lenders do commercial and asset finance brokers prefer?

Among the majors, Westpac was a top choice for many brokers, with the lender getting the highest satisfaction scores across its processes.

The data, coming from Broker Pulse by Agile Market Intelligence, revealed that over September, October, and November 2024, Westpac scored 85 per cent satisfaction score from brokers for its BDMs, an 86 per cent score for its application process, and an 87 per cent score for settlement.

“Westpac’s strong satisfaction scores across BDMs, application and settlement showcases its exceptional broker support. These scores place Westpac ahead of its major bank competitors in three out of four key categories, solidifying its position as the preferred choice among brokers in the commercial lending space," commented Agile Market Intelligence's commercial director, Oliver Stofka.

Westpac was narrowly nudged out for its credit assessment after NAB scored a 79 per cent satisfaction score. Still, the major managed to top three out of the four categories.

However, business banks and non-bank business lenders dominated satisfaction scores. For its BDMs, ING, Bendigo Bank, and Adelaide Bank all scored an impressive 100 per cent satisfaction score. ING continued this top service with a 100 per cent satisfaction score for application processes.

Meanwhile, Prime Capital topped the BDMs for non-bank business lenders with another 100 per cent satisfaction score. Prime Capital also scored 100 per cent, along with Earlypay, in credit assessment. Earlypay scored a further 100 per cent on its settlement satisfaction.

With multiple perfect scores across the board for business banks and non-bank business lenders, niche offerings are proving to be effective.

“Niche lenders are vital in offering tailored solutions that meet specific borrower needs. Their flexibility, faster turnaround times, and personalised service empower brokers to better serve clients, providing funding options often unavailable through traditional channels," said Stofka.

This was further exemplified through turnaround times, with non-bank business lenders having an impressive average turnaround time of 1.4 days for business loans over the five months to November 2024. This jumped to 7.5 days when dealing with the majors.

Despite this, the majors continued to be the main option for loans. NAB dominated the commercial mortgages space, with 22 per cent of brokers turning to the lender throughout November 2024.

For business loans, Westpac saw the largest broker flows, also scoring 22 per cent. Capital Finance managed to beat out the larger lenders for asset finance, however, seeing an impressive 32 per cent of brokers submit an application.

Asset finance continues to be the most popular loan type brokers are servicing, with 73 per cent of respondents writing this type of loan in November. For comparison, business loans were written by 63 per cent and commercial mortgages by 57 per cent.

[Related: Business lenders finding their niche with far quicker turnaround times]

Jack Campbell is the editor of Broker Daily. After graduating from the University of Wollongong in 2022, Jack began his journalistic career working on Broker Daily’s sister brand, HR Leader. In August 2023 he was made the news editor and worked alongside some talented journalists writing articles and recording podcasts.

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