From Fringe to Framework: Why Aggregators and Private Lenders Need Each Other
Private lending in Australia has moved from the margins to the mainstream of commercial conversation.
What remains incomplete is structural integration within broker distribution networks.
That integration begins — and matures — through aggregator panels.
The relationship between aggregators and private lenders is not tactical.
It is structural.
The Aggregator Ecosystem
Australia’s mortgage and commercial broker market is underpinned by sophisticated aggregator groups.
AFG provides scale and data-driven market intelligence.
Connective offers technology-led workflow efficiency.
Mortgage Choice combines national brand power with retail presence.
PLAN Australia and FAST emphasise compliance, education and lender engagement.
Their success lies in standardising an otherwise fragmented market.
They ensure brokers operate within:
Clear compliance frameworks
Structured commission processes
Technology-driven submission systems
Ongoing professional development
Defined governance structures
Aggregators are not simply introducers.
They are infrastructure.
Their strength is discipline at scale.
Why Private Lenders Need Aggregator Panels
Private lenders have grown significantly as institutional capital has flowed into private credit.
Yet distribution often remains informal.
Without panel inclusion, private lenders face:
Limited broker awareness
Compliance uncertainty
Distribution friction
Inconsistent deal flow
Reputational ambiguity
With panel inclusion, the equation changes.
They gain:
Credibility
Structured referral pathways
Governance alignment
Broader, professional market access
As private credit matures, capital must be matched with disciplined distribution.
Panels provide that discipline.
Why Brokers Need Private Lenders
Regulatory capital oversight by APRA has narrowed bank risk appetite.
Supervisory intensity from ASIC has increased documentation and procedural burden.
The outcome is predictable:
Viable commercial scenarios fall outside rigid policy.
Not because they are unsafe — but because they are non-standard.
Private lenders introduce optionality.
They are typically:
Faster in assessment
Structurally flexible
Security-driven
Short-term focused
Exit-strategy aligned
They do not replace banks.
They complement them.
Banks remain Australia’s lowest-cost long-term capital providers.
Private lenders dominate transitional funding.
The two systems are not adversaries.
They are sequential components of a broader capital ecosystem.
Acknowledging the Divide
Not all private lenders operate at the same standard.
The disciplined operators:
Maintain clear mandates
Enforce governance frameworks
Document risk appropriately
Communicate transparently
Honour exit timelines
The undisciplined operators:
Overextend capital
Under-document risk
Misprice funding
Create borrower stress
Aggregator oversight narrows that divide.
Panels reward professionalism.
They marginalise opportunism.
In doing so, they protect brokers and borrowers alike.
The Client-Centric Outcome
Finance is not ideological.
It is practical.
If a short-term second mortgage enables a business owner to:
Secure an acquisition
Resolve a tax liability
Complete a development
Stabilise a balance sheet
Then the funding source becomes secondary to the outcome.
Private credit — when structured responsibly — is a tool.
Banks are a tool.
Aggregators are the framework that connects those tools to brokers.
The Structural Inevitability
Australia’s credit markets are maturing.
Institutional capital is increasingly comfortable in private debt.
Brokers are more sophisticated.
Borrowers are more commercially aware.
The integration of private lenders into aggregator panels is not merely strategic.
It is inevitable.
Because in the final analysis, markets do not reward ideology.
They reward institutions that:
Solve problems efficiently.
Operate ethically.
Maintain discipline.
Deliver outcomes consistently.
Always with the client at the centre.
