Product policy now the most important factor to brokers

Now in its 17th year, the annual survey by Agile Market Intelligence asks brokers to rate the performance of the lenders they have worked with over the last 12 months.

This year, 1,261 brokers completed the survey between 17 February and 30 April 2026, providing a wide variety of views and experiences based on how lenders performed throughout the 12 months leading up to April 2026.

Which attributes do brokers rank highest?

Brokers were asked to evaluate the performance of lenders they have worked with over the past 12 months, rating each across 16 attributes spanning five categories:

• Personnel: BDMs, call centre support, credit assessment staff
• Products: product policy, product pricing, product range
• Speed: turnaround times
• Support: broker communication and training, channel commitment, settlement, post-settlement support
• Technology: application lodgement, broker portal, digital tools, document submission, upfront valuations.

Respondents were asked to rate each attribute by importance from 1 (not important at all) to 5 (extremely important).

Unlike in 2025, when product pricing was the most important factor for brokers, this year, it was the clarity and flexibility of product policies across key market segments that were ranked top, with 90 per cent of residential brokers saying so.

This may be because serviceability has tightened substantially over the past year amid a higher rate environment and as more lenders pull back their risk appetites (particularly for trust or SMSF lending).

After product policy, brokers rated turnaround times as the second most important factor, closely followed by credit assessment staff and business development managers (BDMs), which were all rated at 89 per cent.

Product pricing fell to fifth place in this year’s Third-Party Lending Report, likely as a result of relatively high rates across the board.

Instead, the quality of a lender’s personnel has grown in importance to brokers in recent years, according to Agile Market Intelligence’s findings.

Ratings for BDMs and credit assessment staff have recorded the strongest rise in broker importance ratings of any category over the past seven years – both rising by around 7 percentage points since 2019.

Speaking of the findings, Michael Johnson, head of Agile Market Intelligence, said: “When you look at how importance ratings have shifted since 2019, personnel stands out.

“BDMs and credit assessment have each climbed around 7 percentage points, while product policy and turnaround times have remained relatively stable.

“Brokers have always needed the product to be right and the deal to move fast. Increasingly, it’s the people behind that process who determine where their business goes.”

Which lenders came out on top?

Of nearly 40 lenders rated, Macquarie Bank ranked first overall with a score of 88 per cent, extending its run at the top to six consecutive years.

Macquarie led the field in turnaround times, with a score of 96 per cent and also topped the rankings for product policy, BDM quality, and credit assessment – the four attributes brokers weigh most heavily.

Bankwest came in close second, with brokers rating it particularly highly for its technology (85 per cent) and ranked similarly high across products, personnel, support, and speed, narrowing the gap with Macquarie this year and reinforcing its position as the strongest challenger for the top spot.

Other standout lenders that provided an excellent broker experience over the last 12 months across different segments included:

The full, interactive Third-Party Lending Report can be obtained from Agile Market Intelligence, and a deep dive into the different lender segments will be uncovered in upcoming editions of The Adviser magazine.

[Related: Major survey opens for broker feedback]