Brokers writing 71% of new volume amid ME Bank transition
BOQ Group’s home lending book was down 8% on a year-on-year basis as of February 2026, per the regional player’s latest financial update.
It’s a continuation of an ongoing trend for BOQ as it migrates customers to a digital platform under the group’s strategy to reduce origination costs.
In BOQ’s last financial year ending 31 August 2025, total housing lending dipped 6% to just above $52 billion. As of this February, the book was down to around $50.5 billion.
BOQ paused broker originations on its legacy platform in September 2024 amid a planned transition to the digital ME Bank brand.
Brokers accounted for 71% of new home loans in the first half of BOQ’s financial year, marking a substantial increase from 60% in its last financial year.
Broker-introduced loans now sit at 55% of BOQ’s total loan book, up from 55% in August 2025. The majority of broker-introduced loans sitting on BOQ’s books are from the ME Bank brand (43% of the total portfolio), with a smaller portion of legacy BOQ loans comprising 7% of the total portfolio.
BOQ Commercial delivered solid loan flow in the first half that partially offset a decline in home lending.
Commercial lending grew around 7% – or $934 million – on a sequential basis, driven by continued focus on healthcare, agribusiness and well‑secured commercial property.
The equipment finance portfolio remained well diversified by industry and geography ahead of the $3.7 billion whole‑of‑loan sale to Challenger, which will recycle capital into higher‑returning specialist segments.
At a group-wide level, total income rose 5% year on year, with net interest income up 4%. It wasn’t enough to fend off a sharp sell off on the ASX, with the stock falling 9% on the day.
