Non-Bank Lenders Post 127% Growth as Broker Market Tightens

Industry data shows managed loan books growing even as the number of active mortgage brokers falls, with non-bank lenders rapidly filling market gaps.

Something counterintuitive is playing out in Australia's mortgage market. The number of registered mortgage brokers is falling — but the total value of loans written by those brokers is growing sharply. At the same time, specialist non-bank lenders are expanding at a pace that is reshaping what is available to borrowers.

MPA Australia reports that gross resignations from Australia's ten largest aggregator groups — 959 — outpaced new appointments of 853 for a second consecutive quarter to June 2026, pulling the combined headcount down from 17,854 to 17,748 active brokers. Yet over the same period, managed loan books across those same networks continued to grow. In one major aggregator's case, managed loans reached $193 billion at 30 June — a 25 per cent increase on the prior corresponding period — even as its broker headcount contracted by 4 per cent. Revenue per broker in that network rose 16 per cent to $13,000.

The message is that the brokers still working in the market are writing more business per person than ever before — and the quality focus driving some exits appears to be producing a more productive professional pool.

Compliance Is Reshaping Who Stays in the Industry

The exit of some brokers from the market is not entirely passive attrition. Aggregator networks have been under significant pressure to tighten compliance standards, and in some cases that has meant actively removing brokers who do not meet the bar.

The context for this pressure matters. MPA Australia reports that in December 2025, former banker Andrew W. Hu was arrested and alleged to be the ringleader of a criminal network — dubbed the Penthouse Syndicate — that had written home loans under a sub-aggregator licence operating within Finsure, one of Australia's larger broker networks. An internal investigation into 14 brokers in the connected entity, Hai Money, resulted in their removal. Finsure subsequently terminated its contract with Hai Money in late April 2026, affecting approximately 210 brokers. The matter proceeded to legal proceedings before the parties reached a resolution, with the termination standing.

For borrowers, this kind of regulatory scrutiny is genuinely positive — even if the short-term result is fewer active brokers in the market. It means the professionals who remain have passed through more rigorous vetting, operate within more clearly defined compliance frameworks, and face stronger consequences for misconduct.

Before engaging a broker, it is worth checking a few things:

- **ASIC accreditation:** Every credit representative in Australia must be registered with ASIC. Ask for their credit representative number and verify it through the ASIC Connect public register. - **Lender panel breadth:** A broker with access to 20 or more lenders — including non-bank options — is better placed to find the right product for your specific situation. - **Commission transparency:** The best interests duty requires brokers to prioritise your outcome. Ask whether their commission varies by lender and how that might affect their recommendation.

Non-Bank Lenders Are Filling the Gap — and Growing Fast

While attention often focuses on the big four banks, a quieter but significant shift has been underway in Australia's non-bank lending sector. MPA Australia reports that one non-bank lender's loan book grew 127 per cent in the most recent half-year period, reaching $7.5 billion. The broader non-bank share of total mortgage settlements reached 13 per cent industry-wide — reflecting a sustained shift in where borrowers are finding their home loans.

Part of this growth is structural. Advantedge — previously one of the largest wholesale home loan funders in the broker channel — has been progressively winding down new lending, with existing customer loan books transitioning to NAB-branded products through 2026. This has reduced the pool of white-label wholesale options available on broker panels and pushed more volume toward direct non-bank lenders such as Macquarie and Pepper Money, which fund their own books.

For borrowers, this matters because non-bank lenders often assess income and employment type differently from the major banks. If you are self-employed, a small business owner, a contractor, or have a more complex income picture, a non-bank lender on your broker's panel may offer a more competitive or more accessible product than the big four. Non-bank lenders backed by securitisation markets have also been demonstrating strong appetite for investor and owner-occupier loans in the current environment.

If you are looking to refinance your home loan, ask your broker specifically whether they have checked non-bank options — not just the major bank offerings. Our borrowing power calculator is a useful starting point for understanding what you could borrow across different lender types.

Per-Broker Productivity Is Rising: What That Means for You

The data from the June 2026 quarter shows something encouraging buried in the headline numbers: even as broker headcount fell, the loans written per broker — and the revenue per broker — rose significantly.

Across the industry's largest groups, the two strongest organic gainers were Loan Market Group, which added a net 27 representatives to reach 3,763, and Connective, which added a net 68 brokers to reach 3,402. These gains came largely from brokers moving between aggregator groups — reflecting a market where experienced operators are consolidating around the strongest platforms rather than leaving the industry entirely.

The broader picture is one of an industry maturing. The broker channel accounted for 81 per cent of all new residential home loans written in Australia in FY26 — meaning eight in ten new mortgages in this country are now originated through a broker rather than directly through a bank. That is a record level of market share, and it reflects the value borrowers increasingly place on accessing the full market through a single professional rather than approaching one lender at a time.

For borrowers, a more consolidated, higher-quality broker market means the professionals you are working with are under greater accountability — and are typically more experienced than the industry average was even a few years ago.

Explore our home loan comparison tool to see what competitive rates are currently available, or check our first home buyer hub if you are entering the market for the first time and want to understand what products are designed for your situation.

The shrinkage in broker numbers is not a warning sign — it is part of an industry lifting its standards. The brokers still in the market are, by and large, writing better-quality business than ever before, and the non-bank lenders growing behind them are giving borrowers more genuine options than at any point in recent memory.