Third party lending chief outlines CommBank's strategy for speed, consistency and digital advancement as economic pressures reshape customer expectations
Parents watching children at the beach are well aware that (aside from a shark alert) one of the more dangerous times to swim is when the tide is turning.
The same principle applies to interest rates. With the recent cash rate increase marking a shift in monetary policy direction, customers should be paying closer attention to how interest rates and cost of living pressures may affect their homebuying or refinancing decisions. But are they?
In this environment, brokers play an important role in helping customers read the currents, feel more confident in the water and plan for everything from unexpected eddies to the odd rogue wave.
From a sector perspective, one of the key challenges ahead is to manage increasing complexity while continuing to deliver clear, timely and consistent experiences for customers. As customer needs become more diverse in line with the new direction of monetary policy, simplifying processes, improving transparency and setting realistic expectations will be critical to maintaining trust throughout the lending journey.
“The past year reshaped expectations across the home lending ecosystem. Rate movements and sharper pricing competition … raised the bar for what ‘good’ looks like when it comes to speed, transparency and the overall lending experience” – Baber Zaka, CommBank
At the same time, many of these conditions create strong opportunities for growth. As customers seek greater reassurance and personalised guidance, brokers are well placed to build deeper, long-term relationships with them by understanding individual circumstances and supporting customers beyond a single transaction.
"For lenders, the opportunity lies in enabling brokers with the right tools, information and experiences to deliver this level of support at scale," says Baber Zaka (pictured), general manager for third party at CommBank.
"By reducing friction, improving visibility and streamlining the end-to-end journey, lenders can help brokers focus on what matters most: supporting customers through one of the most important financial decisions they will make."
The importance of brokers
Australian mortgage brokers are now well and truly the established lifeguards manning the lending towers. More than three quarters of new residential loans are originated via brokers, and growth in that figure shows no signs of slowing. For CommBank, this dominance represents more than a market statistic. It reflects a structural change in how customers approach one of their most significant financial decisions.
Source: The Mortgage and Finance Brokers Association of Australia (MFAA)
"With brokers facilitating around 77% of home loans nationally, their influence continues to grow as customers rely on them for expert guidance, choice and confidence in an increasingly complex environment," says Zaka.
This complexity is particularly acute for first home buyers, who increasingly turn to brokers for clarity and practical support through unfamiliar territory. Perhaps first home buyers are the toddlers at the beach who need a more experienced hand.
As customer needs become more nuanced, the broker-customer relationship has strengthened, helping more Australians progress from aspiration to purchase through trusted, personalised guidance.
Economic pressures and the cost of living are adding another layer to this equation. Brokers are advocating strongly on behalf of customers, seeking consistency, clear credit guidance and predictable assessment experiences from lenders. They want meaningful conversations with relationship managers that support realistic outcomes aligned with customer expectations and values.
How 2025 reset the bar
The last 12 months changed what both brokers and customers expect from the lending experience.
"The past year reshaped expectations across the home lending ecosystem," Zaka explains. "Rate movements and sharper pricing competition in 2025 raised the bar for what 'good' looks like when it comes to speed, transparency and the overall lending experience."
For customers, this translates to less tolerance for delays, uncertainty or rework. These shifts have elevated operational excellence and responsiveness from foundational considerations to even stronger strategic priorities for CommBank as it moves into 2026.
A defining trend throughout 2025 was rising broker demand for more engaged and accountable lender support. Brokers increasingly sought direct case ownership, proactive communication and faster issue resolution, recognising that this level of engagement directly improves experiences and outcomes for their customers.
"This momentum is shaping how we think about deeper, more transparent broker relationships in the year ahead, with a clear focus on helping brokers spend more time advising customers and less time navigating process friction," adds Zaka.
Customer expectations also advanced rapidly. Appetite for digital visibility accelerated, with both brokers and borrowers seeking clearer line of sight on application progress and quicker access to information. Greater transparency enables brokers to set clearer expectations with customers, reduce uncertainty during the lending journey and support more informed decision-making at key moments.
Industry-wide digital progress
The sector made significant strides in automation and integration in 2025. CommBank's continued investments, including CommBroker enhancements, PEXA integration and new self-serve escalation tools, have helped redefine what best-in-class broker support looks like.
As these capabilities mature, they are simplifying the lending journey, reducing time to decision and enabling brokers to deliver smoother, more predictable outcomes for their customers. The result is rising standards across the entire market.
Meeting customers where they are
"At CommBank, our starting point is always the customer," says Zaka. "As we move into 2026, our focus remains on meeting customers wherever they choose to engage and delivering a consistent, high-quality experience across each."
In that context, CommBank recognises the central role brokers play in helping Australians realise their homeownership goals. Brokers now facilitate the majority of home loan flows nationally, reflecting a clear and enduring shift in customer behaviour.
As this shift accelerates, CommBank's investment in broker experiences is designed to strengthen the role brokers play for their customers. By enhancing digital capability, improving visibility across the application journey and reducing process friction, the bank enables brokers to spend more time advising customers and less time managing administration.
Strategic priorities for 2026
"Delivering consistent credit outcomes remains a core priority as the lending environment continues to evolve, because consistency is critical to building better relationships with brokers and customers," says Zaka.
This means applying clear, consistent credit-decisioning and assessment approaches that work for both brokers and the customers they support. By reducing turnaround time variability and sharpening the clarity of policy pathways, CommBank can give brokers greater confidence and help customers clearly understand what to expect at every stage of the lending journey.
"We've continued to strengthen our Platinum proposition to better support the brokers who continue to support us," Zaka says. "This includes increasing our credit assessment capacity, introducing one-day service level agreements and providing fully assessed pre-approvals, while also investing in our people, including relationship managers and operations teams, to provide consistent and reliable support when brokers need it."
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)
Accelerating digital uplift across the broker experience is equally critical to improving customer outcomes. CommBank's focus is on ensuring every broker has access to faster, more transparent tools that reduce follow-ups, cut friction and create a smoother flow from lodgement through to settlement.
Day to day, this translates to quicker updates, fewer delays and a more predictable experience for customers, enabled by fewer manual interventions and a more intuitive, data-driven broker experience that moves at the pace customers now expect.
Reducing rework and administrative burden is another important focus area. By embedding digital validations, improving data quality and simplifying policy interpretation, CommBank is removing unnecessary touchpoints and minimising back-and-forth. This allows brokers to spend more time supporting customers through key decisions, rather than managing operational friction.
CommBroker evolution continues
The continued evolution of CommBroker remains one of the most impactful ways CommBank is helping brokers deliver better outcomes for customers. Enhanced visibility, clearer status updates and smarter digital tools are enabling faster decisions and more confident conversations with customers as lending scenarios become increasingly complex.
Behind the scenes, greater automation and intelligent decisioning are simplifying the end-to-end lending journey. By reducing rework, streamlining credit checks and guiding brokers to the right policy pathways earlier, CommBank is helping customers move from application to outcome with greater speed, clarity and certainty.
"We are particularly excited about new self-serve digital escalation capabilities within CommBroker," adds Zaka. "These give brokers faster ways to resolve queries and keep applications moving, reducing delays and uncertainty for customers while giving brokers greater control and transparency throughout the process."
CommBank focuses on backing brokers with the platforms, insights and support they need to read the conditions, signal changing currents and keep customers between the flags. By strengthening these broker partnerships, the bank is helping more Australians navigate the waves of 2026 with better confidence.
