There’s plenty moving across the market this week, but one update deserves a closer look.

HSBC’s decision to exit Australian retail banking will eventually see Pepper Money service its $36 billion home and personal loan book. For customers, there’s no immediate change. But for brokers with HSBC clients – particularly those holding significant funds in offset – there’s an important difference to understand before the transfer takes place.

I’ve broken down what changes when an offset moves from an ADI deposit account to a non-bank offset sub-account, what it means for customers and the questions brokers should be asking.

Also this week: Liberty becomes the first non-bank lender to join the Government’s 5% Deposit Scheme, NAB updates genuine savings and servicing policy, ME launches a $2,000 LMI cashback offer, plus updates from Ubank, VMG, Allianz and more.

Here’s what you need to know.

🏦 Liberty

Liberty joins the 5% Deposit Scheme

Liberty has become the first non-bank lender to join the Australian Government’s 5% Deposit Scheme, expanding lender choice for eligible first home buyers.

Under the Scheme, eligible buyers can purchase with as little as a 5% deposit, with the Government guarantee helping remove the need for Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI).

🔑 What this means

• First non-bank lender in the Scheme
  Liberty’s inclusion marks the first time an eligible borrower can access the 5% Deposit Scheme through a non-bank lender.
• Potentially broader borrower access
  Bringing a specialist lender into the Scheme may help more borrowers participate, particularly where their circumstances don’t fit neatly within traditional bank lending models.
• The same Scheme standards still apply
  All participating lenders must meet the same comprehensive Scheme requirements, including serviceability, verification, reporting and audit obligations.
• No reduction in borrower safeguards
  Housing Australia has confirmed Liberty’s participation maintains the same safeguards, standards and consumer protections that apply across the Scheme.

💡 Broker takeaway

Liberty’s inclusion introduces specialist non-bank lending into the 5% Deposit Scheme, while retaining the same Scheme eligibility, oversight and consumer protections.

For brokers, the big win is choice — another lending pathway for eligible first home buyers and potentially greater flexibility where a borrower doesn’t fit neatly within a mainstream bank’s credit appetite.

⚠️ Important – Liberty Policy Guide

At this stage, we do not yet have Liberty’s detailed policy guide for the 5% Deposit Scheme, including any lender-specific assessment requirements or credit nuances.

Before making a recommendation to your customer, speak with your Liberty BDM to confirm the scenario and how the application will be assessed under the Scheme.

🏦 ME Bank

$2,000 cashback for eligible LMI customers

ME Bank is introducing a new $2,000 cashback offer for eligible customers who require LMI.

The offer applies to eligible applications submitted from Tuesday 18 August 2026 and supports customers purchasing a home with less than a 20% deposit.

✅ Eligibility

Customers must:

• Be a personal customer and Australian resident.
• Take out an eligible EconoME or CompleteME home loan for an Owner Occupied or Investment property.
• Apply from 18 August 2026 and settle within 120 days of application.
• Have total new lending of at least $400,000. Multiple or split applications submitted at the same time can be aggregated to meet the threshold.
• Have an LVR between 80.01% and 95%, where LMI is payable.
• Hold an eligible SpendME transaction account in the name of at least one borrower within 60 days of settlement for payment of the cashback.

⚠️ Important

• One cashback per customer applies, regardless of the number of borrowers, applications or securities.
• The offer cannot be combined with another ME Bank or BOQ Group cashback offer.
• Customers who have received a cashback from any BOQ Group brand within the previous 12 months are not eligible.

👉 Refer to the ME Broker Portal for FAQs and full terms and conditions.

🏦 NAB

Genuine savings, maximum rental yield and boarding expense policy changes

The following policy changes apply to applications submitted from 27 August 2026.

💰 Genuine savings

• Gifted and inherited funds will become eligible sources for verifying genuine savings.
• A note must be left detailing where the funds originated and confirming they are non-refundable.
• The 90-day rule will not apply to gifted or inherited funds, but remains in place for all other forms of genuine savings.

🏠 Maximum rental yield

• The maximum rental yield that can be used for servicing will increase from 6% to 7%.
• This cap is not applied in NAB’s decision tool and is managed manually by credit assessors.

🛏️ Minimum boarding expense

• The minimum boarding expense for customers living with relatives will increase from $500 to $600 per month.

ApplyOnline enhancements – 5% Deposit Scheme

NAB has updated ApplyOnline to support recently announced Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme requirements.

Housing Australia introduced a new retained savings requirement from 1 July 2026.

💵 Retained Savings Guidance

A new system-calculated ‘Retained Savings Guidance’ field will appear on the Security tab under the relevant Scheme security type.

The benchmark will be calculated using:

• 6 months of HEM or GLEE, whichever is higher;
• plus 6 months of loan repayments;
• plus 5% of the loan limit for construction applications.

💳 Post-Settlement Savings

A new manual ‘Post-Settlement Savings’ field will require brokers to capture the customer’s remaining savings after deducting:

• Customer contribution
• Fees and charges
• Stamp duty

If Post-Settlement Savings exceeds the Retained Savings Guidance benchmark, at least one reason must be selected before the application can be submitted.

Valid reasons include:

• Moving costs
• Furnishings
• Appliances
• Renovations
• Medical expenses
• Wedding expenses
• Special needs modifications
• Other eligible one-off, non-discretionary expenses

🧮 New NAB refinance calculator

NAB has launched a new refinance calculator on nab.com.au.

Customers can use the calculator to:

• Compare their existing home loan with indicative NAB interest rates, products and refinance options.
• Estimate potential monthly, annual and lifetime savings.
• Explore different scenarios by adjusting loan balance, remaining term and interest rate.

🏦 People First Bank

Broker Evolution Update Webinar

📅 Wednesday 16 September
⏰ 11:00 am – 11:45 am

People First Bank will explore how it is transforming its business to better support brokers, including:

• Niche offerings and unique products
• Ideal application characteristics
• Digital lodgement improvements
• Streamlined processes
• Dedicated national BDM support

👉 Register here

🏦 RedZed

Unlock, Refinance, Grow: Finding More Deals with RedZed

📅 Tuesday 15 September
⏰ 11:00 am – 12:00 pm

This session will explore how brokers can:

• Unlock equity through strategic cash out.
• Help SMSF clients refinance through RedZed’s EasyRefi solution.
• Identify residential and commercial lending opportunities that may be overlooked by the majors.

👉 Register here

🏦 Ubank

🔔 Reminder: 90% LVR No LMI Home Loan

A reminder that Ubank’s 90% LVR No LMI home loan is available for eligible customers, removing the additional cost of LMI.

The 10% deposit option is available for both owner-occupied and investment property purchases.

🔑 Key things to remember

• Up to 90% LVR
• No LMI or risk fee
• Available for Owner Occupied and Investor P&I purchase loans only
• Loan terms of up to 30 years
• Maximum loan amount of $2 million per application for LVRs above 85%

🏦 VMG

VMG moving exclusively to ApplyOnline

From 17 September 2026, VMG will move to ApplyOnline (AOL) via NextGen as its exclusive platform for all new loan application lodgements.

🔑 What’s new?

Brokers will have access to built-in NextGen AOL functionality including:

• Integrated ID Verification (VOI) – complete digital identity checks at application without using separate platforms.
• More Information Requests (MIR) – send and resolve MIRs through AOL, reducing email traffic and keeping applications within the platform.

🏦 Allianz

Up to 10% off eligible Home, Contents or Landlord Insurance

From 16 August to 14 November 2026, eligible customers may receive up to 10% off their first year’s Home, Contents or Landlord Insurance^.

The offer is available whether customers purchase through the online journey or are referred to an Allianz specialist by their broker.

🏠 Why Allianz?

• Trusted by more than 4.5 million Australians
• More than $3.2 billion in claims paid in 2025*
• Dedicated Mortgage Broker BDM support
• Home and landlord insurance specialists available to assist customers
• Simple broker referral process
• Customers can purchase online or speak directly with an Allianz specialist
• Monthly instalments available at no additional cost#
• No Claim Bonus savings available for eligible customers

🤝 Supporting customers

When customers are referred to Allianz, specialists can guide them through their insurance options and ensure any available offers are explained and applied where eligible.

🏦 HSBC to Exit Australian Retail Banking – Pepper Money to Service $36bn Loan Book

HSBC has announced it is winding down its Australian retail banking business following a strategic review.

The bank has entered into an agreement to sell its approximately $36 billion Australian home and personal loan portfolio to Blackstone, with Pepper Money appointed to manage and service the loan book following completion.

The sale is expected to complete in the first half of 2027, subject to regulatory approval.

HSBC’s remaining Australian retail banking business — including transaction accounts, savings accounts, term deposits and credit cards — will progressively wind down over approximately 18 months.

HSBC will continue operating its Corporate and Institutional Banking, Private Banking and Asset Management businesses in Australia.

🔑 What happens to existing HSBC home loans?

There is no immediate change for customers.

Following the transfer:

• Pepper Money will become the servicer and main point of contact for transferred home and personal loans.
• Existing interest rates, repayments, fees and discounts will transfer across — customers will not simply move onto Pepper’s advertised home loan rates.
• HSBC will continue servicing customers until the transfer is completed.
• Customers will receive further communication before any action is required.

💰 The important difference for HSBC offset customers

This is one area brokers need to understand carefully.

An existing HSBC offset account is a separate bank deposit account linked to the customer’s home loan.

Pepper Money is not an Authorised Deposit-taking Institution (ADI) and therefore cannot provide a traditional bank deposit account.

Instead, Pepper provides an offset sub-account that sits within the home loan facility itself.

🧮 The interest outcome is broadly the same

For example:

• Home loan: $500,000
• Offset balance: $100,000
• Interest calculated on: approximately $400,000

Pepper’s offset sub-account similarly reduces the balance used to calculate interest, while scheduled repayments remain unchanged.

⚠️ But the legal structure is different

HSBC Offset

• Separate bank deposit account
• Linked to the home loan
• HSBC is an ADI
• Eligible deposits may be protected under the Australian Government’s Financial Claims Scheme, subject to applicable limits

Pepper Money Offset Sub-Account

• Forms part of the home loan facility
• Is not a separate bank deposit account
• Pepper is not an ADI
• The balance therefore does not receive the Government deposit protection that applies to eligible ADI deposits

This distinction is particularly important for customers holding large cash balances in offset.

💳 It can still operate much like an everyday account

Despite the different structure, Pepper’s offset sub-account can provide many of the features customers associate with a traditional offset, including:

• Salary credits
• Online and mobile transfers
• BPAY
• Direct debits
• Real-time payments
• Telephone self-service
• Optional debit card

A simple way to think about it is a little like a prepaid travel card — you can load money onto it, transact, withdraw cash and use a card, but the functionality alone doesn’t make it a traditional bank deposit account.

Pepper’s offset is similar in that respect: it has banking-style functionality, but the legal structure behind the money is different.

🔍 Other considerations for brokers

Because Pepper’s offset sits within the loan structure:

• Access to the offset sub-account remains subject to the home loan terms.
• Pepper’s offset terms allow funds to be applied against amounts owing in certain circumstances, including where repayments fall into arrears.
• Pepper provides one offset sub-account per eligible loan account, with the broader loan facility allowing up to four splits.
• Existing HSBC offset balances will not automatically transfer into the Pepper offset sub-account.

Importantly, HSBC will contact offset customers before the transfer and obtain their consent before moving an existing HSBC offset balance into a Pepper Money offset sub-account.

Transferring the balance is optional.

💡 Broker takeaway

The key message isn’t that one offset structure is necessarily “good” and the other “bad”. It’s that they are not the same product structure.

Some non-bank home loan providers partner with an ADI to provide a genuine bank deposit offset. Others, including Pepper Money, provide the offset as a sub-account within the mortgage.

For HSBC customers — particularly those holding significant funds in offset — brokers should make sure they understand:

• Where their cash will sit
• How they will access it
• What protections apply

before consenting to transfer their offset balance.

🎯 Bottom line

Don’t just ask whether the home loan has an offset. Ask where the customer’s cash is actually sitting.

❤️ Elite Women in Finance

Working in the mortgage industry is a privilege, and after close to 25 years, I still feel incredibly lucky to be part of an industry I care so deeply about.

I’m just as passionate about it today as I was when I first stepped into it all those years ago.

So much has changed over that time. I’ve been fortunate to take hold of some incredible opportunities, meet extraordinary people, build businesses, learn some very hard lessons and continue to grow alongside an industry that has given me so much.

To be recognised by Mortgage Professional Australia as one of its Elite Women for 2026 is incredibly humbling.

But I also really want to say this.

I share this recognition with so many incredible women I’ve worked alongside, learnt from and admired over the past 25 years. And to all of the women doing amazing things across our industry who weren’t recognised on a list this year, for whatever reason, please don’t let that diminish what you’re doing.

Keep going. Keep backing yourself. Keep doing the work.

Because you are making a difference, and there is every chance you are inspiring someone else without even realising it.

These acknowledgements are incredibly meaningful, but they are not a ranking and they are not a competition. Sometimes it’s very easy to lose sight of that.

There is room for all of us to succeed, contribute, lead differently and leave the industry a little better than we found it.

And lastly, a huge thank you to my LMG and Loan Market family. You have been my rock for such a big part of this journey.

Thank you for continuing to trust me, back me and believe in me — particularly in the moments when I haven’t always believed in myself.

Very grateful. ❤️

📖 Broker Magazine – June Issue

The June issue of Broker Magazine is now LIVE!

I’m proud to be featured in this edition and would love you to check out my article.

The issue is packed with industry news, expert insights and practical ideas from across Australia’s broker and finance community.

Broker Magazine is the only community-based industry magazine, created by the broker community, for the broker and finance community.

👉 Read the latest issue:
https://www.fbaa.com.au/news-media/broker-magazine/

👉 Subscribe to future editions:
https://www.fbaa.com.au/news-media/broker-magazine/

Happy reading, See you next week!!!