High broker engagement and a strong consumer experience has been cited as the reason for the lender’s rapid mortgage growth in the six months to September.
Macquarie Group Limited has released its financial results for the six months to September 2025 (1H26), revealing that its home loan portfolio has reached $160.3 billion, up 13 per cent on the prior half (ending 31 March 2025).
According to the group, Macquarie Bank now holds approximately 6.5 per cent of the Australian mortgage market.
In September 2025, Macquarie Bank represented 24 per cent of total Australian home loan market growth (at $13.5 billion) - and, over the last 12 months, Macquarie Bank has represented 21 per cent of total home loan market growth ($135.7 billion).
Indeed, Macquarie Bank has grown its book rapidly over the past few years - with its loan book having expanded by more than $50 billion since March 2023.
More than 95 per cent of all the bank’s home loans are originated via the broker channel.
According to the financial results, home loan growth over the September half was driven by strong demand in lower loan-to-value ratio (LVR) and owner-occupier lending tiers.
Around 63 per cent of its home loan portfolio is for owner-occupied borrowings, and its average LVR at origination was 65 per cent (at September 2025).
Business lending also accelerated over 1H26, with the loan portfolio rising by 4 per cent on the prior half, to $17.4 billion.
Business lending growth - secured largely by working capital, business cash flows and real property - was driven by an increase in client acquisition across both core segments and a continued build into “emerging segments.
The bank had around 2.1 million customers by September 2025.
Macquarie Bank noted that its ongoing technology investment has helped it deliver “market-leading turnaround times” by accelerating loan application and approval processes, and resulted in strong broker and customer advocacy.
Wendy Brown, head of broker sales for Macquarie Bank, commented: “Our strategy has been clear and consistent over many years. The broker channel has been and continues to be fundamental in enabling us to prudently grow our home loans business to where it is today, with brokers accounting for more than 95 per cent of our home loan originations.
“Our continued growth is the result of our strong focus on delivering a highly competitive and industry-leading experience for brokers and customers.
“We hear from brokers a lot that they enjoy the certainty and confidence that comes with consistently quick responses. It’s one of the reasons we have invested so much in our technology systems, so that we can offer market-leading turnaround times," Brown added.
She continued: “We’ve always been very vocal about the fundamental role that brokers play in guiding Australian home buyers through what can sometimes be a complicated lending process. It’s clear that Australians agree with this sentiment with the latest MFAA data showing a new record of over 76 per cent of all new residential home loans settled by mortgage brokers and over $99 billion in new residential home loans settled by mortgage brokers.”
The bank said it would continue to invest in digitisation and automation to improve client experience and support scalable growth.
For its medium-term outlook, the Macquarie Group said it is looking at “growth opportunities through intermediary and direct retail client distribution, platforms and client service” as well as “opportunities to increase financial services engagement with existing business banking clients and extend into adjacent segments”.
However, the bank has also been streamlining its offering - having announced last week that it was ceasing lending to companies and trusts, effective 31 October 2025.
The decision was driven by a range of factors, Macquarie said.
“With application volumes increasing, we’re adjusting our approach to ensure we continue delivering market-leading turnaround times and high service standards for brokers and customers,” the bank said in an email sent to brokers.
It also listed “emergence of strategies on social media aimed at maximising lending through trusts and companies” as a reason for the change.
Upcoming anti-money laundering Tranche 2 regulations, which will require additional verification steps for trust and company loans (making the origination process more complex and time-consuming for banks, brokers, and customers), were also cited as a reason.
Overall, Macquarie Group's 1H26 results show that the group achieved a net profit of $1.65 billion for the half, up 3 per cent on 1H25 but down 21 per cent on 2H25.
The banking arm contributed a net profit of $793 million, up 22 per cent on 1H25. The result reflected growth in the home loan portfolio and in deposits, and a lower average headcount for the half year period. This was partially offset by margin compression and higher technology expenses.
Macquarie Group managing director and CEO, Shemara Wikramanayake, said: “The improved underlying performance across our operating groups in the first half reflects the ongoing benefits of our diverse business mix and our continued investment in opportunities that support long-term growth and deliver positive outcomes for our clients and communities.”
She continued: "Macquarie remains well-positioned to deliver superior performance in the medium term with established, diverse income streams; deep expertise across diverse sectors in major markets with structural growth tailwinds; patient adjacent growth across new products and new markets; ongoing investment in our operating platform; a strong and conservative balance sheet; and a proven risk management framework and culture.”
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