Broker-originated mortgages and surging home loan balances have powered a half-year uplift for Great Southern Bank.
Great Southern Bank (GSB) – one of Australia’s largest customer-owned banks – has reported strong first-half financial year 2026 results off the back of a broker-driven mortgage boom, with total home lending rising faster than the market.
More than three-quarters of loans originated via brokers in the half, underscoring the centrality of third-party distribution to the bank’s strategy.
The shift was particularly evident outside its historical strongholds in the eastern states, where the bank used intermediated lending to gain a foothold in new markets.
GSB said the broker channel had been “pivotal” to its growth in regions where it had no physical footprint.
It pointed to South Australia and Tasmania as recording the strongest home lending growth in the half, with the Northern Territory also seeing “significant” gains.
Home lending balances increased by 4.2 per cent year on year to $18.2 billion, with the bank stating that total home lending grew at 1.2 times system.
CEO Paul Lewis said the lender had stepped up its role in helping Australians onto the property ladder as the housing market remained challenging.
“Owning your own home remains at the heart of many Australians, and we’re pleased to support them on their journey with increased lending,” he said.
“We’ve grown faster than the market, and increased our lending in every state and territory, particularly in places like South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory that are outside our traditional markets.”
The bank also positioned itself as a key player in the first home buyer segment.
It said that during the half, it supported about three times its “natural” market share of FHBs in Australia.
Behind the growth is an expanding and increasingly active broker panel.
GSB’s active panel now stands at more than 10,300, with 1,159 new accreditations in H1 FY26, a step-up the bank said was building long-term capacity and reach.
Of those active brokers, 20.35 per cent submitted at least one deal during the half, while 7 per cent wrote three or more deals.
Lewis framed the performance in terms of the broader mutual banking model and its focus on member outcomes.
“To a customer-owned bank, success is more than just achieving sustainable profits,” he said.
“We continue to be encouraged by how our strong service levels and excellent products are translating into great customer advocacy.”
The stronger lending volumes fed through to GSB’s bottom line, with net profit after tax rising to $27.0 million, up from $17.2 million in the prior corresponding period.
Deposit and SME growth underpin funding base
On the liability side, deposits grew 5.7 per cent yoy to $15.3 billion, with notable gains recorded in savings and term deposits.
The bank also reported “solid growth” in its small and medium-sized enterprise customer base, crediting an expanding digital SME proposition and new products.
It said overall SME deposit balances almost doubled over the period, giving it a deeper relationship base with business customers.
Technology, data, and the SFI milestone
Alongside the balance sheet and profit metrics, the bank highlighted ongoing investment in technology, data, and resilience.
It said it was continuing to simplify and invest in its technology footprint, “strengthening cyber security, improving system resilience and enhancing the overall customer banking experience”.
The bank said a centrepiece of that program was its multi-year partnership with global data intelligence and AI platform Databricks.
The half also marked a regulatory milestone for the customer-owned bank.
The bank’s growth had taken its balance sheet past APRA’s $20 billion significant financial institution threshold, placing it in a more heavily scrutinised regulatory tier typically populated by larger banks.
GSB highlighted that it was the first mutual bank to surpass the SFI threshold organically since its last merger in 2006, rather than through consolidation.
Lewis described the achievement as a defining moment for the bank.
“Reaching the SFI milestone largely through organic growth is a significant moment in our journey and a clear signal of our long-term strength as a bank,” he said.
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