Australian small businesses are embracing the increased benefits of longer-term loans, data from leading non-bank lender, Banjo Loans shows.
Banjo’s latest small-to-medium-enterprise (SME) Business Barometer for the first quarter of the 2025 financial year shows a 43% increase in business loan applications from SMEs compared to the previous quarter, with loan value increasing slightly more at 45%.
Banjo Loans CEO, Guy Callaghan credits the lender’s recent product enhancement for the surge in applications.
“Two months ago, we extended the loan tenor for our Business Loan solutions from 36 months to 60 months. The spike in applications this past quarter demonstrates that small business owners like the idea of more manageable repayment sums being spread over a longer period.”
The Barometer, which offers a comprehensive look at loan size history, industry breakdowns and the quality of applications, also acknowledges that SME borrowing capacity remains limited.
“Many SMEs are still experiencing financial hardship, and while borrowing trends are shifting, SMEs in QLD, WA and the Northern Territory are bucking that trend, with fewer loan applications submitted,” Callaghan said
“It’s also important to note that many SMEs are still in recovery mode following the significant year-on-year decline in total loan value we reported on for the final quarter of 2024. The latest data reveals that SME businesses in Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales are borrowing more, while in certain sectors, we’ve seen significant resilience and borrowing growth.”