Non-bank lenders have been stepping up when it comes to providing innovative and flexible solutions for borrowers. But which lenders do brokers think are leading the way for particular products? We reveal the results from the Product of Choice: Non-Banks Survey 2024.
When it comes to tailored solutions for borrowers, the non-bank lenders really do lead the way. In a rising-rate environment, particularly, the banks seem to shy away from the out-of-the-box scenarios and retreat to a narrower risk appetite.
But this is a boon for non-banks, which excel in providing flexible lending options and often provide access to decision-makers, like credit specialists or approval team members, facilitating quicker decision making, and allows for a more personalised approach to assessing loan applications.
Add into the mix a growing investment in technology (with more leveraging AI-powered decision engines) and a streamlined accreditation process and the ease of doing business with this segment of the market is really second to none.
Competition among the non-banks is rife at the moment, which has resulted in constant innovation in product offerings. To find out which lenders brokers most favour for their clients’ residential, business, and personal finance needs, we task Agile Market Intelligence to find out.
The 2024 Product of Choice: Non-Banks Survey, conducted between 29 January 2024 and 26 February 2024, asked 226 brokers to evaluate and rank non-bank lender products in order of preference across 12 different product categories:
- Prime owner-occupied loans
- Near-prime loans
- Investor loans
- Specialist loans
- Personal loans
- Short-term loans
- SME loans over $250,000
- SME loans under $250,000
- SMSF loans
- Commercial mortgages
- Debtor finance loans
- Equipment and asset finance loans.
The results were then analysed with the scores totalled to identify the winners for each category.
Unlike in previous years, the results show that brokers are using a broader range of non-bank lenders, with a range of lenders being well liked (and well used) for their flexibility and consistency of service for a particular product range.
Which lenders came out on top?
A total of 10 lenders take out the top rankings across the 12 categories, with two lenders coming out on top for multiple categories.
Pepper Money ranked in first position across two product segments this year: Near-prime loans and Specialist loans, while Prospa came out on top for SME loans under $250,000 and short-term loans.
Other non-banks held onto their popularity for the second year in a row, with Liberty Financial (Prime Owner-Occupied loans), La Trobe Financial (Commercial mortgages), ScotPac (Debtor finance), and Plenti (Personal loans), all making repeat appearances in the ranking this year.
Resimac was named as the non-bank with the best Investor loan offering, while Latitude was top for Equipment and asset finance, Banjo Loans is well reviewed for its SME loans over $250,000, and Mortgage Ezy is popular with brokers when it came to SMSF loans.
You can find out more about how and why these lenders have been delighting brokers in the June edition of The Adviser magazine, out now!
[Related: Broker usage of non-banks surged in February: Broker Pulse]
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