“There needs to be a drive within non-banks to keep our speed and agility, even as non-banks get bigger, and fight the temptation to bankificate our cultures”
Luke Jackson,
Go Lend
“Many first-home buyers don’t have large deposits to hand, or the bank of mum and dad, but do have sound income levels, and so we’re seeing more requests for higher-LVR support”
Campbell Smith, Pepper Money
“There’s a huge wave of overseas institutional private money coming into the country ... [this] has previously been a roadblock for New Zealand at the bottom of the world as a small market”
Pernell Callaghan,
Finbase
Non-bank lenders shed stigma as sector scales up
As offshore capital, technology and adviser support reshape New Zealand’s non-bank sector, investors and borrowers are embracing specialist lenders once seen as last-resort options
Read on
Johny Kale
CFML Loans
Luke Jackson
Go Lend
Campbell Smith
Pepper Money
Daniel McGrath
Xceda
Industry experts
For a long time, non-bank lenders in New Zealand operated in a kind of productive obscurity: respected by those who knew them well, avoided by those who didn’t, and largely invisible to borrowers who assumed the major banks were their only credible option.
That is now changing. Cheaper institutional capital is arriving from offshore. Regulatory conditions may soon shift more in non-banks’ favour. The stigma that once made borrowers hesitant and advisers cautious is lifting. And a new generation of lenders is building the back-end systems, governance structures and adviser relationships that will be needed to grow into a much larger market.
If the reputation of a lending sector is a leading indicator of its market share, the question isn’t so much whether non-banks can expand – it’s when and how fast.
Go Lend offers a licensed peer-to-peer marketplace for property-secured loans. Working with our trusted network of nationwide mortgage advisers, we provide tailored lending options for borrowers. With over 50 years of experience in the banking, non-bank lending, investment and risk management sectors, we offer skills and experience in the non-regulated short-term property finance market. As specialist lenders, we ensure customers experience quicker approvals and easier access to funding. For our investors we offer a transparent, flexible platform where they can access and select from a range of mortgage-backed loans that provide competitive fixed-income returns.
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Johny Kale brings over 20 years’ experience in funds management across New Zealand, the UK, Ireland and the Cayman Islands. He held senior roles at Northern Trust and North Asset Management LLP, where he served as treasury and operations manager for six years. A co-founder of CFML, Kale has been instrumental in shaping the business since its inception in 2016 and was appointed CEO in 2024. He holds a Bachelor of Business Studies (Finance and Property) from Massey University and a Certificate in Investment Management from the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (UK).
CFML Loans
Johny Kale
Pernell Callaghan is one of the co-founders and managing directors of Finbase, a private credit institution focused on mortgage-backed lending and delivering reliable, risk-adjusted returns. With over a decade of experience in property development, trading and financial structuring, Callaghan combines on-the-ground expertise with strategic leadership. He previously founded and exited one of New Zealand’s largest second-mortgage lenders, managing over $100 million in assets. Callaghan also founded Arizto Real Estate, a national technology-enabled agency with 400-plus staff. Having personally traded more than 50 residential properties, he now leads Finbase’s strategy, partnerships and capital raising as it scales towards market leadership.
Finbase
Pernell Callaghan
Luke Jackson is CEO of non-bank lender Go Lend. His experience in the New Zealand finance market spans over 29 years and includes a background in corporate, commercial and retail banking across New Zealand’s major banks. Over the last decade, Jackson has been a senior figure in the New Zealand non-bank market. He pioneered the use of peer-to-peer funding structures for property lending, as CEO of one of the initial platform providers during the early licensing period. Jackson’s experience also includes serving as general manager New Zealand of a publicly listed Australian non-bank mortgage provider.
Go Lend
Luke Jackson
Campbell Smith is country head at Pepper Money New Zealand. With over 20 years’ experience in the banking and financial services industry, he has substantial executive leadership, financial and operational expertise, having worked in various commercial functions across mortgages and asset finance. In 2022, Smith joined Pepper Money New Zealand from LeasePlan as director and country manager. He has also worked at organisations such as Turners Automotive and Westpac.
Pepper Money
Campbell Smith
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Published 08 Jun 2026
Ryan Smuts
Kris Pedersen Mortgages
Simi Sethu
Kripa Financial Solutions
Pernell Callaghan
Finbase
Ryan Smuts entered lending in 2014 as an underwriter, developing deep expertise in bank and non-bank mortgage lending criteria. In 2017, he transitioned to a key account manager role at Kris Pedersen Mortgages (KPM), becoming an accredited mortgage adviser specialising in financial reviews, lending and property investment. A passionate educator, he shares market insights through webinars, blogs and social media. His commitment to excellence earned him Financial Advice New Zealand’s Excellence in Advice award in 2018, and he has been recognised by NZ Adviser as a Top Adviser every year since 2019. Now a KPM director and shareholder, Smuts holds a Bachelor of Business Studies degree from Massey University and personally owns properties in both Auckland and Rotorua.
Kris Pedersen Mortgages
Ryan Smuts
Simi Sethu is one of the founders of Kripa Financial Solutions. As principal financial adviser, she brings over 20 years’ experience in global sales, banking and financial advice. Her career began in the UAE with brands like Emirates and Travelport, where she honed her skills in customer service, B2B sales and client retention. In New Zealand, she spent six years as a banker and mobile mortgage manager at BNZ, guiding hundreds of families into homeownership. In 2020, Sethu co-founded Kripa, specialising in risk protection, lending solutions and long-term financial wellbeing.
Kripa Financial Solutions
Simi Sethu
Daniel McGrath is CEO of Xceda, bringing a strong background in corporate and finance law to leading the business through New Zealand’s evolving regulatory landscape. He is passionate about building a high-performing, customer-focused team that blends digital innovation with personal service. McGrath plays a key role in shaping Xceda’s governance and compliance functions, ensuring the business is well positioned for growth, especially with the expanding specialist lending market. He advocates for proportionate regulation and open industry dialogue to support better outcomes for customers and lenders alike.
Xceda
Daniel McGrath
“From the adviser perspective, we’ve got a lot of options available from the second-tier lenders and development lending”
Simi Sethu,
Kripa Financial Solutions
“It’s not uncommon when chatting to clients initially that now they are the ones who suggest the non-bank market to us”
Ryan Smuts,
Kris Pedersen Mortgages
“It’s not such a tarnished image to go to a non-bank anymore”
Daniel McGrath,
Xceda
In Partnership with
Pepper Money was established in 2000 to help people achieve their financial dreams. By providing a flexible approach to finance, we’re able to help turn a ‘no’ from the banks into a ‘yes’. Since then, we’ve become one of the largest, most trusted and award-winning non-bank lenders in Australia and New Zealand, making a difference to thousands of people’s lives. Our flexible approach means looking at each person’s situation on its merits. We’re the home of home loan options.
Find out more
“We’ve seen investors returning to the market after a subdued period”
Johny Kale,
CFML Loans
CFML Loans is a boutique, New Zealand-based non-bank lender partnering with advisers nationwide. Our highly experienced team delivers tailored, outside-the-square solutions with speed and precision, providing personalised, agile support that unlocks better outcomes for complex client needs.
Find out more
Xceda is a trusted New Zealand non-bank deposit-taker, founded in 1989 and regulated by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand. Originally established in Whakatāne as a regional asset lender, we have grown into a nationwide operation offering tailored lending solutions, including short-term bridging finance and long-term property loans. As one of only a small number of licensed institutions, we have a strong regulatory standing that reflects our commitment to responsible lending. With over three decades of experience and a focus on personalised service, we proudly help New Zealanders achieve their financial goals with confidence.
Find out more
Finbase is a New Zealand private credit manager focused on first-mortgage property lending. We provide structured funding across residential and commercial real estate through an integrated capital management, credit and origination platform. We partner with mortgage advisers to provide non-consumer borrowers with dependable access to capital across a broad range of transactions. Supported by a dedicated credit team and committed capital base, Finbase combines disciplined underwriting with efficient execution – enabling our clients to progress deals with clarity and confidence.
Find out more
Source: KPMG Specialist Lenders Insights Report, 2026
Specialist lending sector at a glance
Value of loan obligations by loan type
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
$1.8bn
$4.9bn
$4.8bn
$0.5bn
$10.2bn
Total value of
loan obligations
for sector
$22.2bn
Consumer mortgages
Consumer motor vehicle
Consumer unsecured
Consumer other security
Business
NZ Adviser recently sat down with non-bank lenders Xceda, Pepper Money, CFML, Go Lend and Finbase at Onemata Restaurant in Viaduct Harbour, Auckland, to discuss the situation. Xceda was represented by chief executive Daniel McGrath, Pepper Money by New Zealand country head Campbell Smith, Go Lend by chief executive Luke Jackson, Finbase by managing director Pernell Callaghan and CFML by chief executive Johny Kale. They were joined by two brokers to provide a different perspective: Ryan Smuts, mortgage adviser and director at Kris Pedersen Mortgages, and Simi Sethu, financial adviser at Kripa Financial Solutions.
The stigma is fading Not long ago, a mortgage adviser suggesting a non-bank solution to a client would tread carefully. The non-bank label carried weight, and not in a flattering way. That has changed.
Ryan Smuts, mortgage adviser and director at Kris Pedersen Mortgages, has watched the shift happen in real time. His client base is predominantly investor-focused, which has given him a front-row seat to how attitudes have evolved.
“A lot of people were sort of a little bit wary of second-tiers," said Smuts. “They might not have been that familiar with this space in the
past, but I think these days, when the banks’ criteria get too difficult and begin to get in the way of clients’ ability to take advantage of opportunities, they look for more solutions. It’s not uncommon when chatting to clients initially that now they are the ones who suggest the non-bank market to us, in some cases before we even get a chance to suggest it. It’s no longer something to stay away from or use as a last resort.”
The pricing gap has played a significant role in this. As the spread between bank and non-bank rates has narrowed, the conversation has shifted from reluctant compromise to considered strategy.
Smuts pointed to another factor that has helped people warm to non-banks: understanding where the money actually comes from.
“If a client is on the fence when it comes to using a non-bank, and you can tell they don’t want to miss out on the potential property opportunity, educating them about where non-banks get their money from – in many cases, main banks – can certainly help. Clients understand how heavily banks have been regulated, and the fact that banks support these opportunities can help bridge the gap,” said Smuts.
Daniel McGrath, chief executive of Xceda, sees a broader cultural shift at work. He connects it to the way New Zealanders have become more comfortable with financial services outside traditional banking, whether that means e-wallets, crypto tools or KiwiSaver fintechs.
“It’s not such a tarnished image to go to a non-bank anymore,” said McGrath, “and that’s also happening within the money and wealth sectors. I think when you look at mortgages, the opportunity there for us is to take advantage of that trend for alternative financial service providers and say, how do we fit in with how you want the user experience to be?”
McGrath sees compliance as a core part of the story non-banks can now tell with confidence. “Even if you’re a non-bank lender, you’ve got a lot of compliance,” he said. “Customers will understand that, hopefully, everyone’s to some degree either RBNZ or FMA regulated. If we can get customers confident that actually we’re required to meet significant compliance obligations also, that would be a big, big factor to give customers and advisers confidence to use us as an alternative to the banks.”
Still, non-banks are aware that improving the sector’s reputation
is a long-term battle, with one recent survey showing that 87% of the sector feels more needs to be done.
Investors are back, and they want simple solutions One of the clearest signals of a shifting market is the return of property investors. After a sustained period of subdued activity, investor appetite may be coming back, and non-banks are well positioned to serve it.
Johny Kale, chief executive of CFML Loans, has seen the trend build over the past year. “We’ve seen investors returning to the market after a subdued period,” said Kale. “We’ve seen interest rates come down in 2025, and people are now making strategic moves to get into that market. For us, the key has been asking how we can support advisers, then making practical policy tweaks so they can deliver stronger solutions for their clients.”
Campbell Smith, country head at Pepper Money New Zealand, is seeing the same pattern, along with tentative interest from first-home buyers who are still uncertain about timing.
“We’re starting to see investors return to market, and they’re wanting simple lending solutions and ready appetite in order to capture current market opportunities,” said Smith. “At the same time, there’s growing interest from first home buyers. Many are still taking a cautious approach, which is understandable given the uncertainty around interest rates and property values.”
Smith is candid about the position first-home buyers face without family support. “Many of these first home buyers don’t have large deposits to hand, or the bank of mum and dad, but do have sound income levels, and so we’re seeing more requests for higher-LVR support. We’ve worked closely with our funding partners to ensure we can support these requests whenever possible.”
For Pernell Callaghan, managing director at Finbase, a non-licensed specialist lender, the game is speed and flexibility. He sees New Zealand as being several years behind comparable markets, but the direction of travel is clear.
“Specialist lenders have to shape the product around what’s going to fit outside the bank [market],” said Callaghan. “Let’s say it’s developers who do a construction lend with us, and then they roll into residual stock. They want us to split that down into six separate loans so that when they actually sell one, we’re not swallowing the whole 100% of the proceeds ... we are just looking for ways we can adapt and assist the borrower without putting overt stress or risk on our portfolio.”
Callaghan was equally direct about what New Zealand can learn from more mature markets. “If you look at Australia, they’re five years ahead," he said. “Then America is 15 years ahead of where we are, so it helps to look overseas and see what they’re doing.”
Simi Sethu, financial adviser at Kripa Financial Solutions, works across both the first-home buyer and developer spaces and has seen confidence in non-bank options grow among her clients.
“With regard to the developers, whether it’s small-time or big developers, they are not being afraid of going to the second-tier lenders or the development lenders and getting things done,” said Sethu. “From the adviser perspective, we’ve got a lot of options available from the second-tier lenders and development lending.”
The funding revolution quietly underway Behind the headlines about rate moves and investor returns, something structural is changing in how non-banks access capital, and it matters enormously for where the sector goes next.
Luke Jackson, chief executive of Go Lend, was blunt about the relationship
“I think banks will continue to tighten, whether by their own choice or by pressure from government, RBNZ, whoever is eventually telling them what capital ratios need to be, and that will provide more opportunity for us,” said Callaghan. “There’s a huge wave of overseas institutional private money coming into the country ... [this] has previously been a roadblock for New Zealand at the bottom of the world as a small market. But as large institutions are looking for more places to put their capital, because they’re so cash heavy, inevitably they’ll start looking at small markets like this.”
Kale sees the same dynamic playing out at the macro level and is optimistic about where it leads for pricing. “The more that advisers partner with us, the more efficient we become. Greater volume allows us to access better pricing in the capital markets, ultimately delivering more competitive outcomes for their clients catering to Kiwis who are, in general, price-driven. If we are 50 to 100 basis points above bank, and we’ve got a better service experience, then we are going to get a lot more business.”
Kale is also watching regulatory developments closely. A potential change to RBNZ settings, which could introduce a carve-out for securitisation similar to the one that exists in Australia, could shift pricing significantly.
“We’re optimistic about interest rate compression to within around 50 to 100 basis points of the banks,” he said. “This will be much easier to achieve if we get a positive response by the RBNZ later this year on their review of capital requirements for securitisation warehouses. We remain optimistic that we will get a positive response.
“What does this mean in plain language? It will mean lower funding for CFML, which we will pass on to the borrowers. At that point, it largely comes down to serviceability, and the non-bank lenders like CFML have a clear advantage due to the ability to adapt quickly to the changing environment, which remains difficult for banks to achieve due to their size.”
Staying non-bank on purpose As non-banks grow and take on more institutional funding, some say there is a possible drift towards the operating model of the institutions they are supposed to complement. Jackson was firm about resisting this.
“The temptation as a non-bank is to go down the road of becoming more like a bank,” he said, “and in essence, killing off what makes non-bank so special. There needs to be a drive within non-banks to keep our speed and agility, even as non-banks get bigger, and fight the temptation to bankificate our cultures.”
Smith was just as direct about the competitive stakes involved. “We’ve always been clear about who we are, and becoming more like a bank isn’t the ambition,” he said. “We see our role as different. We’re here to support advisers and customers when others can’t, and grow our presence in New Zealand by doing what we do best, which is delivering a great adviser experience and meaningful customer solutions.”
McGrath pointed to the interplay between different types of credit providers as a defining feature of where the market is heading. They will all need to find their place in relation to each other, he argued. “I think all of these markets are going to have to see the interplay between all of these different credit providers,” said McGrath.
Jackson sees a broader strategic question for the sector about how it builds product. For smaller, more nimble operators, the discipline is knowing what you are and what you are not. “Sometimes it’s also good to articulate what we don’t do,” he said. “And sometimes what we don’t do could still be a deal that sits right in the wheelhouse of another non-bank. Unlike banks, which are more or less all the same as each other, each non-bank tends to focus on particular niches that they step up to do well.”
At the same time, Smith was candid about where non-banks actually lose business day to day. “When we lose deals out of our pipeline, we lose them to a main bank,” he said. “We don’t lose them to [other non-banks]. Most of my pipeline, when it gets cannibalised, it’s been cannibalised by a main bank.”
Technology: the back end comes first The conversation about AI and automation in financial services tends to gravitate towards customer-facing applications. Among non-bank lenders, the more meaningful gains right now are happening further back in the process.
McGrath’s team has made a deliberate choice to start with internal operations. “Putting a large amount of application information from advisers into our own AI tools, we’ve been able to massively speed up the process times,” he said. “That’s just an obvious win, and you can do that with fairly basic AI solutions.”
McGrath is also clear-eyed about the workforce implications. “We’ve already made some headcount savings in ops, to be frank,” he said.
Kale is enthusiastic about what AI-assisted coding in particular means for non-banks looking to move faster than their bank competitors. He recalls his own days as a programmer to make the point.
“It’s simply amazing what you can do now with AI. I remember being in London and you’d get one thing wrong in your code and have to debug for hours,” said Kale. “Now, I can reallocate people to actually go out and talk to advisers – that’s far more beneficial than them being behind the desk
“We are actively using AI within our treasury policy processes to support decision-making on how loans are allocated across different funding sources,” said Callaghan.
Callaghan believes this is an area where non-banks will outpace the major banks, precisely because banks face constraints that specialist lenders don’t. “I think we’ll be much further advanced than banks in that aspect,” he said.
Educating the market, one deal at a time The adviser community is the primary distribution channel for non-bank lending in New Zealand, and building genuine, lasting
Smith has rolled out AI across Pepper Money’s operations, with customer-facing tools in development. “Technology including AI has already been inherently part of our business for quite some time now and is being leveraged by our operations team in particular to deliver better customer and adviser experiences. It’s making a real difference day to day,” he said.
Jackson sees AI reshaping how non-banks think about their core systems. “The whole financial services industry, both banks and non-banks, has historically been bogged down by expensive legacy systems," he said. “There is now a strong move to back-end systems that are just far faster to adapt. Non-banks being the nimble companies they are, they can evolve and adapt fast to provide solutions, not just to mortgage advisers on bridging loans but wider [solutions] to the whole financial services market.”
Callaghan is using AI in a less widely discussed way: in treasury management and risk pricing. Rather than focusing on client-facing tools, Finbase has been building something more structural.
“When an adviser sends a client to non-bank, as a non-bank we typically don’t resource ourselves to also be another adviser for that client,” said Jackson. “In essence, we are a funder for your business. And for us, we prefer the adviser to stay involved. If there’s any heavy issues, it’s beneficial still having the adviser’s input. I think that relationship is so strong with the advisers when you’re in non-bank, because we’re not there to steal the client.”
Where the next decade leads Reflecting on what the coming decade might look like for the sector, Jackson framed it as a time of genuine possibility, provided non-banks hold on to what makes them worth choosing in the first place.
“I think we’ve all seen the change in recent years from [having] a bank branch on every corner,” said Jackson. “The change we’re going to see in the
between funding and product. “The funding actually dictates the appetite, or where your niche is," he said. “The different types of funding, of each provider, will play into different markets. It makes it a lot easier to explain: this is why we’re going after this market, and this is why we don’t do this other stuff.”
Callaghan explained why the cost of capital has been coming down. Getting the governance and data infrastructure right has been the key to unlocking institutional money. “A big improvement we’ve made over the last two to three years is getting the back end right from the governance and risk perspective, which allows us to now reach out and tap into institutional capital,” he said.
“That’s a big reason why that gap has come down between banks and non-banks: the ability for the non-banks to access cheap, almost permanent capital from large insurance or private credit firms overseas, because the governance and the risk and data integrity on the back end is now here, where people with decent amounts of money can actually back people like ourselves to place it.”
That institutional backing is also changing how non-banks can think about the future of their funding mix. Callaghan sees the inflow of overseas private capital as the factor that will finally push New Zealand’s non-bank share of the market to a meaningful scale.
doing data input, and it’s great for the individuals as well. They get a really good understanding of the market.”
Kale also believes AI could help non-banks close the gap between their New Zealand market share and that of their Australian counterparts. “The non-banks in general have a really good opportunity because we’re a lot quicker to market, and there’s room for growth if we compare New Zealand’s non-bank market share with Australia or the US,” he added.
“We’re about 1.5% to 2% of the lending market, whereas Australia is 12 to 15% and in the US it’s 55%, which is amazing when you think about it. The competition both in USA and Australia has driven down the margin between banks and non-banks, which ultimately benefits the borrower. This certainly reflects the general theme from the Commerce Commission report.”
relationships with advisers is where most non-banks are spending their energy.
Webinars have become a standard tool. McGrath’s team runs regular sessions and has found strong uptake. “We often get 40 to 50 advisers signing up every month to our online webinars to learn about our lending products and processes,” he said. “The best one, however, I think, for non-banks is always deal examples. You can go through your pricing matrix and detailed product features, but everyone just wants to talk about a situation and try to find a solution for their client.”
But webinars are only part of the story. Kale believes face-to-face contact from the whole team, not just BDMs, is what builds durable relationships. “What we tried to do was get the whole team out meeting advisers, and that shoe leather really does help,” he said. “Taking time, having a coffee. It’s an opportunity to help advisers understand who CFML is, and how we can support them as a partner that will still be here in five, 10 and 15 years’ time.”
Smuts sees knowledge-sharing as something that must flow in both directions. Advisers who stay in regular contact with non-bank lenders are consistently better placed to find solutions for clients.
“Sometimes we’ve been as high as 40% non-bank as far as settlements go," said Smuts. “Other times it’s been as low as 5 to 10%. That varies depending on what’s happening in the market, how tight credit is, who’s looking for what. But also, if you look at it from another perspective, that’s potentially 40% of business that we could have said no to or missed out on.”
Callaghan was direct about where education starts for most advisers. “For the majority of advisers, I don’t think the education option really starts until they get stuck on a deal,” he said. “[When they get stuck] another adviser in the office says, ‘call a specialist lender or non-bank’. Then they get the first deal away. And then two months later, they call again.”
Sethu arrived at the non-bank market through exactly that learning curve and describes the support she encountered as central to how she built her knowledge and confidence.
“I learned by speaking to people, and there’s great support available from all the non-bank lenders,” said Sethu. “If you call them, they are happy to help. And I’ve also seen that when I’m speaking to CFML, if that’s something they cannot do, they always say, this deal can work with another lender. It’s a great support system.”
That spirit of cross-referral within the non-bank sector is something several participants were keen to emphasise. For Sethu, having a wide network of non-bank relationships has changed what she can offer her clients.
“I’m so happy now because I’ve got access to so many lenders," she said. “I don’t have to say no to the client. I have one or the other option based on the risk appetite of these lenders. It’s a great opportunity for us to educate more advisers about the opportunities available among the non-bank lenders.”
Jackson was clear about how Go Lend sees its role relative to advisers and their clients. Non-banks, he argued, are wholesale partners, not competitors for the end relationship.
next few years is going to be more dramatic than the change we’ve seen up until now. And when you’re ever in a situation of change, the more agile you are, the better prepared you are.”
Smith framed the opportunity in terms of the customers who currently fall outside bank parameters and end up with no good options at all.
“At the heart of it, our role is about backing people who need really helpful loan options because they don’t fit neatly into traditional lending criteria. That includes the self-employed, first-home buyers or investors that might not necessarily be able to get the support they need from a traditional bank,” he said.
“If we weren’t capable of assessing an application on its merits, and looking beyond standard lending criteria, then many of these customers would stand to miss out on what may be a life-changing opportunity. Our advisers want the right support to assist their clients to transact right now, and that’s the role that we play. We are genuinely invested in helping our advisers and their customers succeed.”
Smuts made a pointed observation about the adviser channel itself, and how bank behaviour is quietly pushing more business towards non-bank alternatives. When banks offer faster turnarounds directly to customers than they provide through the broker channel, advisers notice, and they adjust.
“If the same bank was giving a client directly a 24- or 48-hour turnaround, and we as advisers are getting a couple of weeks, well, then it makes no sense for us as advisers to send a client there,” said Smuts. “We’re probably better off technically sending a client directly to the bank – which would be a shame, but that ultimately doesn’t serve our business long term.”
Sethu sees the same dynamic from the adviser side and frames it in terms of what happens before and after a loan settles.
“For the banks, it’s become more like a tick box, whereas for an adviser, options are available for you to discuss, and also after the settlement we are there to look after the client,” she said. “That makes a big difference, giving that solutions-based and needs-and-objectives-based solution for the client.”
The non-bank sector, by contrast, has built its identity around the adviser relationship. Kale put the growth opportunity in straightforward terms.
“I think it’s actually really beneficial for a borrower to have advice instead of going direct,” he said. “Advisers know better than anybody where a loan should really be placed to get the best outcome for their client. What we all want to see is more volume going through.”
The capital is arriving, the technology is being built, the advisers are learning, and the borrowers are warming to the idea of non-banks. A larger market share is just a matter of time.
Source: KPMG Specialist Lenders Insights Report, 2026
Key priorities of the specialist lending sector
0
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Technology transformation
Sustainable growth
Artificial intelligence
Cybersecurity
Capital spending and funding deployment
Provisioning models
Conduct/remediation/regulator response
Shortage of talent
Acquisition/consolidation
Complying with regulation
*Multiple answers possible
From left: Luke Jackson, Go Lend; Johny Kale, CFML Loans; Daniel McGrath, Xceda; Pernell Callaghan, Finbase; Ryan Smuts, Kris Pedersen Mortgages; Simi Sethu, Kripa Financial Solutions; Campbell Smith, Pepper Money