Australian Broker is back with Peter White, managing director of the Finance Brokers Association of Australia (FBAA), in the second installment of our exclusive interview. In this edition, the veteran mortgage leader – who has nearly five decades in the finance and mortgage industries, including more than 22 years at the helm of the FBAA – shares his insights into some of the most pressing trends shaping the finance industry. He discusses Australia’s increasing reliance on brokers as a primary channel for securing home loans – and how that share will likely get to 80% over time – and the growing public awareness of what brokers bring to the table.
White also unpacks new opportunities emerging in a shifting market landscape, and how brokers can position themselves to take full advantage. He explores the expanding role of technology, including artificial intelligence, in streamlining operations and enhancing client service, a critical factor in staying competitive. And with banks leaning more heavily into their proprietary channels, the managing director addresses the rising concerns among brokers about what this might mean for their future role in the lending ecosystem.
Borrowers Down Under are growing increasingly reliant on brokers for their financial needs. According to some estimates, approximately 76.8% of borrowers in Australia use a broker to secure a residential home loan.
But despite all the buzz around brokers’ rising popularity, White said he’d rather not add to the noise.
"I don't like talking much about broker market share," he said. "I think some of the data is not necessarily correct. We have to be a little bit careful if we talk too much about market share. It's exactly why ASIC [Australian Securities and Investments Commission] is currently doing its audit of broker files. Because the higher your market share, the greater the risk, the greater the concern. The regulators phoned me in January of this year and said, 'We're reigniting our audits of broker files, because your market shares increase; your risk is much greater in the marketplace.' So I'd rather tone that conversation down, because – it doesn't mean they're always going to find out – but the more you put it out there, the more it flies in the face of people. I reckon we'll get to 80% market share. Don't get me wrong, I don't see that as an unrealistic achievement. I've been saying that for a very long time.
"When you've got the level of market share that brokers have, there's not a huge amount of misconception," he said. "And we've also got to realize that there are just some people who just say, 'I don't want to deal with a broker.' And there's nothing wrong with that. I don't believe we'll ever get to 100% market share. And that's fine as well.
"But the reality is – whatever the data is – the things we should be celebrating are things like what is happening [at the FBAA's Tasmanian Black Tie Gala], getting together with our peers in the industry, or going to things like the [Australian Mortgage Awards]. Things like that. Those are the things that we should be celebrating and looking at," White said.
A number of Australian banks have been quietly redirecting their attention away from third-party brokers, instead focusing on growing their own proprietary lending channels. But is this cause for concern among brokers?
"Not really," said White. "I mean, these things move around all the time. It's always an interesting piece [of data], and there's dynamics within the [FBAA Consumer Access to Mortgages 2025] report that pulls it back the other way. The broker channel is a much more trusted avenue for home-loan lending than it is through the [bank] branches. In some cases, they're neck and neck. But I think when you've got a sizable market share, and you're still the trusted avenue, as brokers have been, they're still the preferred channel. So brokers need to keep focused on the good and not get distracted with the other things."
Still, White warned that banks' growing talk of strengthening their proprietary channels should not be ignored.
"We've seen a few of the banks starting to very publicly talk about putting more focus on their proprietary channels, their branch channels, versus the broker channel," he said. "I think that's a bit of a telltale sign of the future. We need to keep a close eye on that. And with that in mind, I'd encourage brokers to make sure that when they're looking at their recommendations to their clients, to their customers, about what loan they should get, that they don't forget the non-banks or the second-tier banks. Just don't go to the majors. At the moment, the major banks are starting to focus on their branches. So they do that, they're actually taking your customer away from you. I would encourage everybody to look beyond just the tip of their nose.
"The thing that brokers have got to realize is that if you keep giving your loans to the major banks, at some point in time, they'll pinch your customer," White said. "And so all of a sudden, the broker has given the banks their customer; given them all their business and then the banks say [to the broker], we're not going to deal with you anymore.
"I've been in this industry for 46 years now and I've seen lenders come and go," he said. "One minute [the banks] are really big on the third-party distribution channels. The next minute, they don't want anything to do with them. So brokers have got to make sure they're acting in the best interest of the client, for their decisions. And if they're doing that, then there are many choices and options to be considered."
As broker market share continues to climb, so do the opportunities – and the competition. White highlighted a few key sectors worth watching.
"There's big talk about commercial and business lending at the moment, because the market share [of brokers] is a lot less," White said. "And there are certainly opportunities there, because many home loan borrowers are small business people who have needs for their business, whether it's leasing vehicles, buying commercial premises, or whatever it may be. There are opportunities there that brokers should always be looking at, and that's probably the biggest area of opportunity. So the opportunity is not missing what's right in front of your face quite often. Some brokers just do the home loan and walk out the door. But if you see they're a small business person and they're leasing vehicles, planting equipment, commercial properties, whatever it may be, then there's an opportunity there to look at what else you can do to help them in those areas."
Tech is the talk of the industry, with bold claims about how it will reshape the broker and the mortgage market. But as White put it, “It does – and it doesn’t.”
"A lot of people say, 'Oh, with artificial intelligence and all that sort of stuff, brokers are dead in the water.' But it's not changing the game for brokers. AI is a tool, and so long as brokers use the tool wisely and appropriately, then it's a very helpful tool, one that they should be using," he said. "They need to embrace the whole technology movement with artificial intelligence and various apps, and so on, whether it's ChatGPT, or whatever it is. Brokers need to be embracing that and using it – but they need to know what they're doing.
"There's an old anecdote from many decades ago that goes, 'garbage in, garbage out,'" White said. "Same with this. You put garbage into something like ChatGPT, and you're going to get garbage out. So you have to be very clear and precise about what you're doing, and also understand very clearly how these things work and how best to work with them.
"People shouldn't be scared of technology. But you've got to use it the right way," he said. "Because they are a great tool to be using. It's a bit like the tide: it's not going away; it's coming in. And you're not going to stop it coming in. It's only going to increase. So you need to embrace it and work with it. If you don't, you're certainly going to get left behind."
Even as brokers cement their role in Australia’s mortgage landscape, White acknowledged that there still exists the potential for misconceptions. He shared strategies brokers can use to boost their visibility and stand out in a competitive marketplace.
"Those who don't use brokers don't understand what brokers do," White said. "So it's an education piece. And some people just simply choose not to use a broker. If brokers want to try and move that dial a bit, it can be done through marketing information.
"It's sourcing out, finding: where are those pockets? Where are there some channels? And then focusing on that, if that's within your gambit of what you're doing," he added. "And then say, 'well, I'm going to work with this community group, or whatever it may be.'"
