NAB Cuts Broker Access: What Borrowers Need to Know

NAB has hit 50% proprietary lending for the first time and is moving to a 'targeted' broker strategy — narrowing the brokers it will actively work with.

National Australia Bank has reached what its chief executive described as "a major milestone": for the first time, half of the bank's new mortgage lending in a single month came from its own bankers rather than the mortgage broker channel.

The Adviser reports that while NAB's proprietary flows averaged 47.7% across the six months to March 2026 — up from 40.4% in March 2025 and 41.4% six months prior — that figure climbed to exactly 50% in March 2026. Over the half, NAB wrote $48 billion in new Australian mortgages, with its total Australian mortgage book (excluding Ubank) reaching $373 billion.

Broker flows, by contrast, fell to 52.3% of new lending in the half, down sharply from 59.6% in March 2025. The bank's CEO Andrew Irvine told media following the half-year results: "Continued growth in proprietary home lending is allowing us to adopt a more targeted approach in the broker market."

What 'targeted' actually means

The phrase "targeted broker strategy" is worth unpacking. Speaking to The Adviser, Irvine explained that NAB intends to concentrate its broker relationships on a smaller group — specifically brokers whose loan flow fits within the bank's credit appetite and return thresholds.

"What we want to do is to focus on a smaller cohort of brokers that we have good relationships with, that we can essentially more effectively service," Irvine said. "We'll be focusing on those brokers where we believe that we'll get flows that are closer to our appetite in terms of above cost-of-capital lending. We really don't want to be doing business where the returns are below our cost of capital."

In practical terms, brokers who fall outside NAB's preferred profile may find the bank less accessible — with potential impacts on turnaround times, policy flexibility and product competitiveness.

The proprietary push has been deliberate and sustained. Proprietary lending is up 72% since the first half of 2024, supported by the hiring of 270 new bankers and a "customer brain" data tool that connects bankers with customers in real time. Around 70% of new business lending at NAB is now originated through proprietary channels.

What this means for borrowers

The immediate implication for home loan customers is straightforward: if your broker has historically placed business with NAB, the bank may become a less accessible option going forward. That is not necessarily a problem — it is a prompt to ensure you are genuinely comparing options across the market rather than assuming your current lender is competitive.

Banks optimise for their own margins and returns. NAB's drive to grow its proprietary channel exists because it improves net interest margin and return on equity — not because branch applications produce better outcomes for borrowers. Irvine was direct about this: the bank is pulling back from lending "where the returns are below our cost of capital."

The broader broker channel continues to write more than half of all new home loans in Australia — and the value of that channel is independence. A broker with access to multiple lenders can match a borrower to the product that suits their circumstances, not simply the product that suits the bank's profitability targets.

NAB's 1H26 results showed Australian home lending balances rising 2.7%, representing 1.1 times system growth, with underlying profit in personal banking up 3.7% over the half. Proprietary lending is up 72% since the first half of 2024. The bank's financial incentive to continue growing its proprietary share at the expense of broker referrals is clear.

For borrowers, the lesson is to approach any refinancing decision with a wide lens — particularly in the current rate environment where three consecutive rate hikes have pushed variable rates to their highest level since early 2025. A single major bank may not be offering the most competitive rate for your situation. Compare options across the [refinance home loans hub](/home-loans/refinance) or check [today's cheapest variable rates](/home-loans/cheapest) to see how current pricing stacks up across lenders.

If you are an investor structuring finance across a portfolio, the [investor home loans hub](/home-loans/investor) covers lender options and loan structures suited to investment purposes. And if you are calculating your overall borrowing capacity in a market where serviceability assessments are tightening, the [borrowing power calculator](/calculators/borrowing-power) gives you a current read on your maximum loan size.

[Source: The Adviser](https://www.theadviser.com.au/lender/48385-nab-proprietary-flows-hit-50-in-march)