Weekly Credit Crunch 24th November 2025

I love bridging Finance.....Said NO BROKER EVER...... Until Now!

Let’s be honest,  when a client says the word “bridging”, most brokers feel their soul leave their body. It’s time-consuming, the information comes at you like a firehose, every lender has a different policy trapdoor, clients get confused, scenarios blow out… and after hours (sometimes days) of work, there’s often no payday at the end of it. So if you’ve ever avoided bridging, parked it in the “too hard” basket, or quietly hoped the client would just stay put — you are not alone. But here’s the good news… things have changed.

I sat down with Mira Hohn from Athena & Apollo to talk about a bridging solution by LMG that finally makes sense for brokers,  one that removes the chaos, gives clarity, and actually supports you to say YES instead of sprinting for the exit.

In this episode, we dig into:

✨ Why Australians want to move but feel stuck — and why brokers don’t feel confident leading the conversation
✨ How Apollo Next’s bridging policy gives clients more borrowing power without the usual compromises
✨ When bridging is the right strategy and how brokers can use the powerful Strategy builder online tool to demonstrate different pathways.
✨ How to save HOURS of admin and scenario modelling, while giving clients a smoother, calmer experience

If you’re ready to turn what used to be the most avoided loan type into a high-value, confidence-building opportunity,  this episode is your turning point.

LISTEN NOW 🎙️

🌟 La Trobe Financial Updates

✅ Commercial Property Maximum loan size increased to $50 million
✅ Maximum loan size at 80% LVR increased to $5 million on select residential products

💼 MA Money, Introducing Commercial Lending

🧾 Lease Doc Commercial Loan

• ⏳ Loan Term: up to 30 years

• 📈 Maximum LVR: up to 80% (Prime & Near Prime)

• 💰 Loan Amounts: $100,000 to $2 million

• 🏭 Acceptable Security Types:

  • Retail shops

  • Offices

  • Light industrial

  • Warehouses

📄 Documentation Requirements:

• ✅ Lease agreement required (tenanted property)

• 🕒 Minimum lease remaining:

  • 24 months (Prime)

  • 6 months (Near Prime)

🏢 MA Money – Commercial Lending Overview

Whether purchasing, refinancing, cash out or debt consolidation — Commercial Loans can be used for light industrial, retail or office property, with Alt Doc options available.

🔑 Key features:

• 💵 Loans from $100K to $8M

• 🕰️ Terms up to 30 years

• 🧾 Cash out to max LVR for any purpose+

• 💸 Interest Only up to 10 years

• 🟢 No clawbacks

• 📚 Full Doc, Alt Doc, Lease Doc, Light Doc

• ❌ No credit score, CCR or DTI requirements

• 🏭 Retail shops, offices, light industrial, warehouses

• 🔄 No annual review or revaluations

• 👥 Up to 6 borrowers, 4 loan splits, 4 offset accounts per loan

✅ Borrower categories:

• Prime 80% LVR:

  • Self-employed

  • ABN > 24 months

  • GST > 12 months

• Near Prime 80% LVR:

  • ABN > 12 months

  • GST > 6 months

  • Credit impairments and arrears accepted (see Product Guide)

🏦 CBA Policy Updates

📅 Announced Friday 11:30am, effective immediately

🆕 New requirement for Company & Trust Borrowers!!

From Saturday 22 November 2025:
➡️  Company / Trust Applicants and/or servicing guarantor must have an active existing lending facility with CommBank for at least 6 months (e.g. home loan, business loan, personal loan, credit card)

📌 Important Notes:

• ✅ Applications submitted by Friday 21 November assessed under current policy

• ✅ Applications submitted from Saturday 22 November must meet new requirement

• 🔄 Balance sheet calculation update for OFI company loan repayments effective immediately

🏠 CBA Pre-Fab Homes Update

🏗️ Five additional prefabricated manufacturers added across WA, VIC, QLD
📍 Updated list available via:

• CommBroker Building/Construction Loans page

• Prefabricated Homes webpage

• Prefabricated Homes Progress Payment Calculator

🏘️ Rental Income Policy Update

Effective Friday 28 November
✅ Rental appraisals must be:

• From a real estate agent in the same state

• Not from the selling agent
  ✅ Can be same agency if issued by rental department

✝️ CBA Religious Organisation Income – Now Acceptable

✅ Income now recognised where:

• Practitioner receives income from an ACNC-registered religious institution

• Benefits are FBT exempt

• Applies to: Priest, Rabbi, Imam, etc.

📝 If standard PAYG employment:

➡️ Follow standard PAYG income verification rules

📊 Income used for serviceability:

• 90% for tax-free income

• 100% for taxable base wage

Thank you Melbourne! 🤍

What an incredible week! A massive thank you to all the brokers who came to see me at the Melbourne PD Day — I loved catching up, hearing what you’re working on, and of course grabbing time with our brilliant BDMs to get the latest lender policy intel. You are my people!

And it didn’t stop there…
We also hosted two big webinars with Brokerversity and Mr Mentor, with over 400 registrations! We went deep on Tiny Homes and Pre-Fab builds — who lends, who doesn’t, the policy grey zones, and how to structure these deals without the headache. Such a great session and so much curiosity in the room!

We’re now putting together next year’s webinar and education calendar, and I would genuinely love to hear from you —

👉 What topics do you want more confidence in?
👉 Which scenarios trip you up?
👉 What keeps landing in your inbox that makes you sigh?

This community is stronger because we build it together, and I adore being part of your growth, your wins, and your “OMG help” moments.

See you next week, finance friends!