Non-bank lender First Federal has extended the maximum term on its business loans from 30 to 40 years with the launch of First Business 40. The product also accepts commercial property as security for the first time.
The lender is pitching the product at brokers working with small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) clients. A longer term spreads repayments over more years, which First Federal says could lift borrowing capacity for eligible customers and ease pressure on monthly cash flow.
First Federal said First Business 40 is aimed at SME borrowers who want to refinance existing business debt, including liabilities owed to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), consolidate debts, or fund the purchase of additional business assets.
The tax debt angle is timely. Small business collectable tax debt reached $35.9 billion in 2024–25, up 118% since 2018–19, according to the Australian National Audit Office, and its findings are pushing the ATO to speed up debt recovery.
Chief executive James Angus (pictured) said the product was designed to give brokers more room to manoeuvre on business lending scenarios.
“A longer loan term isn’t just about borrowing capacity,” Angus said.
He said the longer term could also materially reduce monthly repayments, leaving business owners with more capital to invest, grow, and cover day-to-day operating costs.
Adding commercial property as an eligible security gives brokers another way to structure deals for business owners whose main assets sit in commercial premises rather than residential property.
First Federal said the launch is part of a wider push to offer lending solutions that cover a broad range of borrower scenarios.
“For us, it’s about making business lending easier and giving brokers another way to say yes to borrowers,” Angus said.
First Federal works with more than 2,000 brokers across Australia and reports a broker Net Promoter Score (NPS) of +85, a measure of how likely brokers are to recommend the lender. It recently rolled out a broker portal with live loan tracking.
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