iscover
iscover 
The latest SME Compass Report 2025 released by Banjo Loans has found that SMEs are increasingly turning to finance brokers to assist them in navigating funding options and securing better lending terms, showing a 9 per cent increase in broker usage from 2023–25, reaching 38 per cent.
According to the report, the most common ways SMEs found brokers were through recommendations from accountants (46 per cent), family or friends (31 per cent), or broker comparison websites (23 per cent).
In terms of the ways SMEs were supported through brokers, 33 per cent of respondents said they used brokers to obtain a suitable interest rate and 29 per cent said brokers helped with both identifying the right product or solution for their business and making the process easier and seamless.
Financial and insurance services were the top industry to utilise brokers when securing finance at 52 per cent (above the SME average), followed by retail trade at 41 per cent and manufacturing at 40 per cent.
Additionally, 31 per cent of SMEs in transport, postal, and warehousing said they used a finance broker as an advisory service, followed by financial and insurance services (26 per cent), rental hiring and real estate (22 per cent), construction (21 per cent), accommodation and food services (17 per cent), and manufacturing (15 per cent).
The increase in broker usage among SME customers coincided with recent findings from the latest Mortgage & Finance Association of Australia’s (MFAA) report on broker market share, which found that mortgage brokers were responsible for settling 76 per cent of all new home loans across the December quarter, reaching a new record.
Further findings have shown that SMEs continue to face substantial cash flow challenges, with 45 per cent of respondents saying they have delayed and put off strategic investments and business opportunities over the past year, largely due to a widespread lack of confidence and ongoing uncertainty.
Guy Callaghan, Banjo Loans CEO, said that the report highlighted the “ongoing strain that SMEs – the engine room of the Australian economy – are facing.
“Cash flow remains a critical issue for SMEs which highlights the importance of careful financial management to ensure SMEs can continue to focus on growth and run their businesses without losses in this uncertain market,” Callaghan said.
“But perhaps of even greater concern is the impact of the ongoing uncertainty and lack of confidence being felt in the sector. Just two years ago, 50 per cent of the SMEs we surveyed viewed inflation as a growth barrier. However, in the past 12 months this figure has risen to 65 per cent.”
[RELATED: Broker market share reaches new heights]
