Happy Monday everyone 👋

We’ve got limited policy updates this week, but there are still a few good reminders worth keeping front of mind — plus I’ve got an interesting story to share with you from a consumer market research program I was involved in last week.

The feedback from customers was fascinating, particularly around what they actually want from a broker and where I think there is a huge opportunity for us as an industry. I’ll come back to that at the end.

But first, let’s kick off with a good LMI waiver reminder that may open up a few more options than you realise.

Let’s get into it.

🏦 BANK OF SYDNEY

90% LVR — No LMI for Select Professionals

This one is worth adding to your mental lender shortlist.

Bank of Sydney offers lending up to 90% LVR with no LMI for eligible Owner Occupied P&I and Owner Occupied Construction loans.

And the eligible professions extend well beyond just doctors and lawyers.

Eligible accredited professionals include:

• Education: Registered Teachers
• Medical Professionals: Medical Board, Nursing, Dental, Optometry, Pharmacy, Physiotherapy, Psychology, Chiropractic and more
• Emergency Services: Firefighters affiliated with a State Firefighter Association and Police Officers affiliated with a State Police Association
• Finance / Actuarial: Registered Accountants — CA, CPA or IPA — Actuaries (FIAA) and Financial Analysts (CFA)
• Property / Construction: Architects, Project Managers (ABLIS), Quantity Surveyors (AIQS), Planners (PIA) and Surveyors
• Engineering / Science: Engineers (Engineers Australia), Geologists, Geophysicists and Hydrogeologists through eligible industry bodies

👉 Broker takeaway: If you've got a professional client sitting between 80% and 90% LVR, don't automatically assume you're looking at LMI. Check whether they fall into Bank of Sydney's eligible professional categories.

For the complete list of eligible occupations and accreditation requirements, refer to Bank of Sydney's 90% No LMI Product Sheet.

🏦 MA MONEY

Some policy uplifts definitely worth knowing

These changes actually came through late last month and I forgot to share them — so let's fix that!

Some of the key increases include:

✔️ Prime Full Doc & Alt Doc: Loans up to $5 million at 80% LVR — increased from $2 million

✔️ Near Prime Full Doc & Alt Doc: Loans up to $3 million at 80% LVR — increased from $1.75 million

✔️ Category 3 postcodes: Maximum loan size increased to $1 million — previously $500,000

✔️ Vacant Land: Maximum LVR increased to 80% — previously 75%

✔️ Bridging & Expat Near Prime: Loans up to $5 million at 80% LVR — increased from $2 million

✔️ SMSF Commercial Prime: Loans up to $8 million at 65% LVR — increased from $2 million

👉 Broker takeaway: These are meaningful increases — particularly for larger Alt Doc, Near Prime, bridging, expat and SMSF commercial scenarios. MA Money may now fit deals that previously sat outside its appetite purely because of loan size.

🏦 ME BANK

PropertyHub upfront valuation changes

From 14 September, ME is making two changes to PropertyHub.

1. Upfront valuations now available for properties up to $3 million

The maximum property value eligible for an upfront valuation is increasing from:

$2 million → $3 million

This gives brokers greater flexibility to order upfront valuations across a wider range of properties directly through PropertyHub.

Eligible property types and locations remain subject to the PropertyHub Guidelines available through ME's Broker Portal.

2. New renovation question

When ordering an upfront valuation, you'll now be asked whether the property has recently been renovated.

Providing this information upfront is designed to assist with valuation accuracy and may reduce the need for additional clarification later.

In-flight applications

Applications submitted before 14 September 2026 will continue to be assessed using the existing property valuation process.

🏦 NAB

Construction lending — a progress payment reminder

If you're writing NAB construction deals, this is one worth making very clear to your clients upfront.

To avoid delays and additional verification requirements, customers should provide builder invoices and progress claims directly to NAB for payment.

Customers should not pay the builder directly, unless the payment forms part of their required upfront contribution.

For NAB progress payments:

• There is no separate progress claim form
• Once the builder issues the invoice, the customer simply signs it and emails it to [email protected]
• The customer's Lender ID should be included in the subject line
• There are no progress claim fees
• The customer's loan can remain 100% offset throughout the construction stage

A couple of other NAB construction nuggets worth remembering

Up to three dwellings on one title

NAB policy allows construction lending for up to three dwellings on one title.

So if your client is looking at a knock-down-rebuild with two or three dwellings replacing the existing home, it's worth discussing the scenario with NAB.

Flexible progress payment schedules

NAB also allows:

• Deposit and base stages of up to 20% of the fixed-price building contract
• The final stage can be any amount above 10%
• There are no restrictions on the stages between base and practical completion

Construction files can get messy very quickly. A five-minute conversation with the client at the start about how invoices and progress claims need to be handled can save a lot of pain later.

🏦 ORDE FINANCIAL

Self-employed clients whose financials don't tell the whole story

Roughly one in six working Australians is self-employed — tradies, consultants, medicos, business owners and plenty more.

And we all know the scenario:

The business is performing well today, but the tax returns are behind or the historical financials simply don't reflect what's happening in the business now.

That doesn't automatically make it a bad deal.

For ORDE, it's a core part of the market.

Alt Doc doesn't necessarily mean small loan sizes either

ORDE can fund up to:

• $3 million Residential
• $5 million Prestige
• $5 million Construction
• $5 million Commercial

Using one form of income verification, with no CCR and no credit scoring.

Income verification

A Declaration of Financial Position is required, plus ONE of the following:

✅ ORDE Accountant's Letter
✅ 6 months BAS
✅ 6 months Bank Statements

That's it — one form of verification across the applicable products.

Who should make you think ORDE?

The client whose tax returns are a year behind and whose accountant isn't going to get them completed before the finance clause expires.

The business owner whose income has grown substantially over the past 12 months, where last year's figures simply don't reflect current trading.

The newly self-employed client:

• Prime: ABN from 24 months
• Near Prime: ABN from 12 months
• Near Prime+: ABN from 6 months

Or the client carrying ATO or business debt they need to clean up — with ORDE able to pay both out on Prime.

👉 Broker takeaway: Don't let outdated financials end the conversation with a strong self-employed client. Sometimes you simply need to change the way you're verifying the income.

🏦 SUNCORP BANK → ANZ

The transition is getting underway

Suncorp has started communicating with customers about the move of Suncorp Bank customers to ANZ.

What you need to know

• Customer banking will move across to ANZ as Suncorp Bank becomes ANZ
• There is no immediate change for customers
• Until their accounts move, customers will continue to be supported by Suncorp Bank
• Customers will receive further communication as their individual transition progresses
• Following the move, customers will have access to ANZ's anti-fraud technology

What does this mean for brokers?

At this stage, no action is required.

Suncorp and ANZ will continue to provide updates around important milestones, including the timing of customer migrations and any future changes to products or processes.

Importantly:

Trail commission will continue to be payable following the move.

Brokers who hold both Suncorp Bank and ANZ accreditations will also be best placed to continue supporting customers throughout and after the transition.

Where required, some brokers may be contacted directly regarding ANZ accreditation requirements.

BROKER FAQ

🚨 ALSO AT SUNCORP — PRE-APPROVALS HAVE STOPPED

From Tuesday 8 September 2026, Suncorp Bank no longer accepts new home loan pre-approval applications.

This creates a single home loan application pathway and removes duplication between pre-approval and full application assessment.

Importantly, this change does not alter Suncorp Bank's home loan products or credit policy.

Existing pre-approvals

Customers who already hold a pre-approval letter can continue progressing to a full home loan application until:

Sunday 4 October 2026

Existing PALs remain valid under their existing terms and conditions until that date.

If you've got clients sitting on a current Suncorp PAL, make sure you've got 4 October circled.

🎓 EDUCATION & BROKER SUPPORT

🏦 COMMONWEALTH BANK

CommBroker: Tools, Tracking & Self-Service Options

CBA is running another broker webinar focusing on how to make better use of CommBroker's tools, tracking and self-service functionality.

The session will cover practical tips to:

• Save time
• Find information faster
• Track applications
• Make better use of CommBroker's self-service tools

CBA is also encouraging brokers to bring along support staff and delegates who regularly use CommBroker.

If CommBroker is a regular part of your team's day, this could be a handy session for your support staff as much as for brokers.Please click on the link below to register. – you will then be sent invite to accept to confirm your attendance.

Register now. 👈

ONE LAST THING… THE PART AI CAN'T REPLACE

I attended a leadership event recently where we were shown some fascinating consumer research.

The customers interviewed had both used brokers previously — and unfortunately, neither experience had been particularly good.

Their feedback was pretty confronting.

They felt the broker had:

• Rushed them
• Not properly listened
• Failed to explain things clearly or in enough detail
• Not given them genuine options
• Not walked them through the process
• Left them unsure about what was happening and why

And yet, despite all of that…

They still said they would prefer to use a mortgage broker rather than go directly to a bank.

I think there is a huge lesson in that.

We spend a lot of time talking about AI, automation, digital lending, efficiency and how technology is going to change broking.

And it absolutely will.

But technology isn't the biggest opportunity in our businesses.

The customer experience is.

Banks can provide products.

AI can answer questions.

Technology can compare data, automate processes and help us move faster.

But there is still something incredibly valuable that neither a bank nor an AI tool can easily replicate:

Being someone's trusted adviser.

Listening properly.

Slowing down long enough to understand what the client is actually trying to achieve.

Explaining the why, not just the what.

Giving them options.

Helping them understand the trade-offs.

Keeping them informed.

And making what can be an incredibly stressful financial decision feel clear, considered and manageable.

That's the opportunity sitting in front of brokers.

The future of broking isn't about trying to compete against technology.

It's about using technology to remove the admin and the noise so we have more time for the part that actually matters — the human connection.

Because if customers are still choosing brokers even after having a poor broker experience, imagine the loyalty, referrals and long-term relationships we can create when we deliver a brilliant one.

Something worth thinking about this week.

That's it for this week's Credit Crunch — see you next Monday. 👋