New partnerships underpin white-label growth
Connective Lending, the white-label lending arm of Australian aggregator Connective, posted record gross settlements of $6.01bn in 2025, a 20% rise year-on-year, the company announced Friday.
Total loan applications also climbed nearly 30% from the previous year, reaching $9.02bn. The conversion rate for the year rose to 67%, with Q4 2025 alone recording $2.82bn in applications – with November accounting for $1.02bn of that figure.
The final quarter of 2025 also produced the portfolio’s strongest-ever settlement period, totalling $1.77bn, with December alone reaching a record $655m – a 33% increase on the highest single month recorded in 2024.
Broker usage of Connective Lending held steady at 56% across the year, with half of all users writing across two or more products to address increasingly varied client needs.
The company attributed the growth in part to Reserve Bank of Australia rate cuts (prior to the latter hiking cycle), the First Home Buyer scheme, and a shift in the types of borrowers entering the market.
In 2025, Connective launched three new white-label products: Connective Horizon, funded by Brighten; Connective Reverse, funded by Household Capital; and Connective Complete, its first proprietary product developed in a joint venture with RedZed as servicing partner.
Read more: Connective supercharges white-label offering
Michael Goerner (pictured), head of Connective Lending, said the results reflected more than numerical growth. “What really stands out in 2025 isn’t just the numbers, but the momentum behind them,” Goerner said.
“We saw brokers dealing with a much broader mix of client needs than in previous years – from more complex situations to clients needing alternative paths to finance. Our role was to give them the clarity, flexibility and support to respond confidently, no matter the scenario.”
Goerner said the company’s product expansion was driven by a need to support non-traditional borrowers.
“Our focus has been on giving brokers the breadth of solutions and flexibility needed to support a wide range of client situations – whether that’s bridging into a new property, reverse mortgages, or other specialist loans,” he said. “It’s about backing brokers with practical tools, clearer pathways, and the right support so they can keep their clients moving forward and retain them as their needs evolve.”
