MA Money continues to expand its lending footprint.
The non-bank lender — which falls under the umbrella of global alternative asset manager MA Financial — is expanding its lending policies as competition among lenders intensifies and non-banks cement their position in the market.
"These changes have been some time in the making," Tim Lemon, MA Money's national sales manager, told Australian Broker. "The market moves quickly, and we’re seeing greater demand for larger loans and more flexibility across different locations and borrower types."
Starting today, the changes include increasing the maximum loan to value ratio (LVR) on prime full doc and alt doc loans up to $5 million from 75% to 80%. The LVR on vacant land loans has also increased from 75% to 80%. Lemon explained that this gives brokers more flexibility on larger loans.
MA Money is also making it easier for some loans to get approved without requiring a traditional property valuation. Specifically, properties in category 1 post codes can now use an automated valuation (AVM) model, instead of a traditional, physical valuation, for loans up to 80% of the property’s value and no more than $2 million. In addition, the maximum loan size for category 3 locations has doubled from $500,000 to $1 million.
The firm has also made broader changes to its residential, bridging, expat and self managed super fund (SMSF) loans, Lemon said.
"Self-employed borrowers are a significant segment for us," he explained, "along with investors looking to maximise borrowing capacity, larger loan scenarios and clients using structures such as companies and trusts."
The updated policies come as MA Money continues to gain traction in the market. The non-bank's loan book surged 127% to $7.5 billion in the most recent first half. The lender has since surpassed $8 billion, following more than $1 billion in new settlements in the opening months of 2026's second half.
Lemon credits the growth to a combination of MA Money's people, policies and products, technology and service.
"We have BDMs with deep non-bank lending experience, supported by experienced credit analysts who assess each application on its merits," he explained. "We've also invested significantly in technology so we can grow without losing the responsiveness brokers expect from us."
In 2025, the firm refreshed its product suite with alternative lending options, including the launch of MA Money More, which offers larger loan options, as well as updated alt doc commercial lending, grew its assets under management, added to its leadership team and rolled out ApplyOnline, streamlining the application process for brokers.
"Culture is an important part of it too," Lemon added. "There is a strong focus across the business on finding ways to help brokers get good deals done rather than simply looking for reasons why a scenario doesn't fit."
MA Money's growth comes as Australia’s non-bank lending sector continues to gain ground.
In the June quarter, the value of home loans issued by Australia’s non-bank sector surged 65.2% to $10.49 billion, up from $6.35 billion a year earlier, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data, while home loan lending at major banks grew just 2% during the same period.
A combination of broader market pressures — such as higher interest rates, reduced borrowing capacities, rising property prices, tighter bank risk appetites and increasingly complex borrower profiles — is driving demand for non-banks.
"It's not necessarily about a borrower being unable to get finance elsewhere. Sometimes a non-bank simply has a policy or assessment approach that better reflects their circumstances," Lemon said. "These are often strong borrowers whose circumstances simply require a more individual approach to assessment. Non-banks can provide greater flexibility for borrowers who don’t fit neatly within traditional lending models.
"At MA Money, we don’t rely on credit scoring. We assess each application on its merits, which can make a real difference for self-employed borrowers, complex income or structures, previous credit impairments, and clients earning bonuses or commissions," he continued. "Many of the borrowers we work with aren't straightforward scenarios. They might be self-employed, have complex income or structures, or require a more specialised lending solution.
"At the same time, we believe we’re gaining market share," Lemon added. "MA Money is a broker-only lender, so brokers are fundamental to our business. And brokers consistently tell us they value our turnaround times, accessibility and consistency of credit decisioning."
