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While pricing and policy are still leading factors when recommending a lender to clients, brokers are increasingly valuing service, personnel, and consistency, according to a major new report.
A major new broker survey has revealed that brokers are placing greater weight on consistent service, sharp products, and broker-aligned support when choosing lending partners.
The results come in Broker Pulse’s 2025 Third-Party Lending Report, a major report pulling on responses from hundreds of brokers across Australia.
Now in its 16th year, the annual Broker Pulse survey – the lending insights division of Agile Market Intelligence – asks mortgage and finance brokers to rate the performance of the lenders they have worked with over the last 12 months.
This year, 1,024 brokers completed the survey between 17 February and 30 April 2025, providing a wide variety of views and experiences based on how lenders performed throughout the 12 months leading up to April 2025.
Which attributes do brokers rank highest?
Brokers were asked to rate the importance of 16 factors when it comes to recommending a lender to a client, on a scale of 1 (not important at all) to 5 (extremely important).
While brokers last year ranked credit assessment staff as the most important factor when recommending a lender to a client, this year, it was product pricing that came out on top (with 96 per cent of brokers rating this attribute as either “Extremely Important” or “Very Important”).
This was followed by product policy (95 per cent), credit assessment staff (94 per cent), turnaround times (93 per cent), and business development managers (92 per cent).
Also highly ranked were commitment to the broker channel (89 per cent), settlement performance (86 per cent), and upfront valuations (84 per cent), reflecting brokers’ need for dependable execution and broker-aligned processes.
Attributes such as broker websites/portals, post-settlement client support, and broker communication and training appeared lower in the rankings but still meaningfully contributed to broker sentiment and lender selection.
The data reinforced the growing demand for lenders that can deliver sharp products with clarity, speed, and a strong service commitment.
Speaking of the findings, Michael Johnson, director at Agile Market Intelligence, said: “This year’s report paints a clear picture of what brokers value most. Competitive pricing continues to lead the list, but it is closely followed by product policy, credit assessment quality, turnaround times and BDM support.
“These results reflect a broader shift in broker expectations, where pricing is just one part of the equation.
“Brokers are placing greater importance on lenders who offer consistency, clarity and support throughout the process.
“The lenders rising to the top are those delivering a well-rounded proposition that balances strong products with dependable service.”
Which lenders came out on top?
For the fifth year in a row, Macquarie Bank was rated the top lender of all 38 lenders ranked, achieving high scores across service quality, turnaround performance, and broker satisfaction.
Bankwest and Bluestone Home Loans also performed strongly in key segments, placing them second and third, respectively.
There were other standout lenders that provided an excellent broker experience over the last 12 months.
ING Australia was in third spot for the large non-major banks (those used by more than 20 per cent of brokers) and was in sixth place overall, while Firstmac received the highest rating from brokers of all the large non-banks for the seventh consecutive year (but in 17th place overall).
For the first time in almost 10 years, Westpac was the highest-performing of the four major banks and ranked ninth overall. The big four bank improved its score in nearly every attribute this year and greatly improved its ratings for speed in 2025 (at 82 per cent versus 73 per cent in 2024).
Meanwhile, Ubank was most highly rated of the less frequently used banks (those used by less than 20 per cent of broker respondents) and came in fourth spot overall, while Bluestone was recognised as the market leader for the sixth year in a row among the smaller non-banks.
P&N Bank’s successful year was acknowledged by brokers as it was the highest-performing mutual bank within the report.
Diversification increasing
Broker Pulse’s 2025 Third-Party Lending Report also showed that diversification beyond residential mortgages is accelerating.
A growing proportion of brokers said they wrote self-managed super fund loans (39 per cent), personal loans or vehicle finance (34 per cent), and business loans (26 per cent) in the year to April 2025, with those writing commercial mortgages coming in at similar levels to 2024 (around 37 per cent).
Brokers also said they would be likely to write non-residential loans this coming year, too.
Commercial mortgages remain the standout, with 28 per cent saying they’re looking to move into this space over the next year, reinforcing commercial mortgages as a core growth area for brokers.
SMSF lending is also gaining ground, with 26 per cent interested in beginning to write SMSF loans, likely driven by rising interest in SMSFs using property to build long-term wealth.
Business loans and commercial asset finance are showing strong forward momentum too, with 23 per cent and 18 per cent of brokers planning to enter these markets in the next 12 months, respectively.
The full, interactive Third-Party Lending Report can be acquired from Broker Pulse by Agile Market Intelligence and a deep dive into the different lender segments will be uncovered in upcoming editions of The Adviser magazine.
Keep an eye out for the July edition of The Adviser magazine to find out how brokers rated the big four banks.
[Related: Brokers increasingly delegating and outsourcing loan processing]
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