Liberty Financial Group is on the rise, thanks to growth in business lending.
The non-bank lender reported its half-year results on Monday for the six months ending 31 December 2025, highlighting increased lending to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as self-managed super fund (SMSF) lending.
As a group, the company's net profits after tax were $76.4 million for the six months, up from $67.7 million during the prior six months ending in June.
"We’ve done this by maintaining our strong operating disciplines, as reflected in our stable portfolio, industry leading [net interest margin] and cost-to-income ratios in a highly competitive and challenging market," said James Boyle, chief executive officer of Liberty.
But Liberty's residential loan book fell 4% to $7.95 billion, down from $7.60 billion.
At the same time, residential originations, or the number of new home loans written by Liberty, grew 9% during the six-month period to $1.85 billion, up from $1.7 billion the year before.
The company shined across its SME, SMSF lending and auto finance segments, collectively referred to as the "secured" portfolio. The segment grew 4.7% to $6.1 billion, while originations in the portfolio surged more than 15%.
"There are real alternatives for customers needing finance, [who are] unable to be offered by traditional lenders," Boyle said.
In fact, the need for SME loans has increased in Australia in the midst of tighter regulatory requirements, rising costs and as more and more Aussies embark on entrepreneurship post pandemic.
As of June 2025, there were more than 2.7 million businesses in Australia, an increase of 2.5% from the previous year, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Yet despite the growing number of SMEs seeking capital, banks are more cautious than ever when it comes to extending funding.
"I think it's pretty clear that the growth in the industry isn't necessarily a short-term spike post COVID anymore," Rebecca Del Rio, deputy chief executive officer APAC and chief revenue officer of non-bank lender Bizcap, told Australian Broker. "It's a real shift in how SMEs are assessing capital and a reflection of the banks."
But even traditional lenders are noticing the surge in demand for business loans.
Brett Morgan, chief executive officer and managing director at MyState, explained that "businesses continually need new trucks or trailers or equipment to support their revenues," after MyState's Selfco equipment finance arm surged 64%, year-over-year, in the second half of 2025.
The same goes for SMSF lending. There were 653,062 SMSFs in Australia, according to the Australian Taxation Office's (ATO)'s June 2025 quarterly report, the latest data available. That's up from 563,474 in June 2019. And as SMSFs become more popular, the need for SMSF lending — or a limited recourse loan that the SMSF uses to purchase investment assets — has also grown.
Brokers can capitalize on the opportunity by understanding the different funding channels available, including non-bank lenders, and delivering tailored solutions to meet clients’ specific needs.
