Australian businesses are increasingly turning away from traditional lenders such as big banks and are seeking alternate funding solutions from non bank firms to support their growth. This is just one finding from our latest Equipment Demand Index, which also shows that 25.0 per cent of Australian businesses intend to use alternative finance to fund equipment this September quarter, up from 14.9 per cent in the previous survey. This is a significant increase and clearly demonstrates a heightened appetite for non-traditional lenders.
This shift is occurring amidst a transforming financial services landscape, with capital requirements resulting in changes to the banks operating model. This is evidenced by Westpac’s recent move to withdraw from the asset finance market with the intention to sell their auto and equipment finance book valued at around $15 billion.