Connective Lending has reported record white-label growth in 2025, strengthening mortgage brokers’ ability to support first-home buyers, refinancers, and property investors as borrowing capacity slowly recovers and client scenarios become more complex.
Gross settlements rose 20% year-on-year to $6.01 billion, while applications climbed nearly 30% to $9.02 billion over the year.
Michael Goerner (pictured), head of Connective Lending, said the story was as much about trajectory as raw volume.
“What really stands out in 2025 isn’t just the numbers, but the momentum behind them,” Goerner said.
That momentum is showing up in how brokers use the white label range. Connective says brokers are increasingly treating white-label as a toolkit rather than a single go-to product.
Broker usage of Connective’s white label suite remained steady at 56% of the group’s network, with the average broker lodging close to five applications. Half of active users are now writing across two or more white label solutions, suggesting more brokers are combining products to solve nuanced funding needs around equity release, debt consolidation, investment strategies, and retirement planning.
Those trends reflect a wider shift towards broker-led distribution across the market. This is echoed. This is echoed in new MFAA data showing brokers wrote 76.7% of all new residential home loans in the December quarter – more than three in four – the highest December-quarter share since the series began in 2013, with $142.20 billion in new loans settled, up 23.6% year-on-year.
To support that shift, Connective introduced three new white label offerings in 2025: Connective Horizon (funded by Brighten), Connective Reverse (funded by Household Capital) and Connective Complete, the group’s first own-branded product funded via a joint venture with RedZed.
The expanded range is aimed at borrowers with more sophisticated or non-traditional requirements, from bridging finance and reverse mortgages to specialist options for self-employed clients and those with more complex credit histories.
“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,” Goerner said. “Our role was to give them the clarity, flexibility, and support to respond confidently, no matter the scenario.”
He said this support helped brokers keep deals moving in a changing rate and policy environment.
The December quarter capped off the year with the portfolio’s strongest settlement performance on record.
More applications progressed to settlement, lifting the conversion rate to 67% for 2025. Q4 applications reached $2.82 billion, including $1.02 billion in November, while settlements for the quarter totalled $1.77 billion, with December delivering $655 million – 33% higher than the best-performing month in 2024.
The uplift across both applications and settlements reflects strengthening borrower confidence as RBA rate cuts eased conditions, the impact of the First Home Buyer scheme, and brokers responding to broader and more varied client needs.
Recent official figures support this trend, with the Australian Bureau of Statistics reporting a rise in new first-home buyer loans in the December quarter alongside higher investment activity.
“Connective Lending has always evolved alongside brokers, and that’s what helps drive our momentum,” Goerner said.
He added that this ongoing evolution is central to helping brokers retain clients and meet changing needs over the long term.
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