What's a White Label Lender?

There are options you'll never have heard of!

Becoming a broker after a decade spent with a Big 4 bank opened my eyes to just how many options there are in the market to borrowers. No wonder we couldn't win every deal that came across our desk!

Lenders have appetite for different things, whether that be security, income types, and industries. Generally, the big banks' appetites are "vanilla", meaning they seek the traditional income documents like tax returns, payslips or company financials. However, there are so many reasons why a client may not be a round peg in a round hole, ticking those regular boxes - especially when it comes to self-employed clients.

Enter White Label Lenders.

What Are White Label Lenders?

• Not a bank, but a loan provider using funding from a major bank or wholesale funder

• Loans are branded under a different name - often a mortgage manager or aggregator brand

• Same core product as the major bank, but typically with added flexibility or sharper pricing

Benefits of White Label Lenders

• Competitive interest rates – can be lower than major banks due to reduced overheads, although as white labels accept alt-doc applications, they are normally slightly higher due to a risk weighting.

• Policy flexibility – more accommodating with income types, credit history, or complex structures

• Less marketing – fewer upsells and cross-promotions compared to big banks

Common Questions

• Are they secure? White label lenders are funded by reputable institutions and subject to the same regulatory oversight

• Will they vanish? Many have been in the market for decades and are backed by ASX-listed funders or major banks

• Can I have an offset and redraw? Many do have these features

Who Might They Suit?

• Self-employed borrowers needing policy flexibility

• PAYG clients chasing better rates and fast turnaround

• Investors wanting lower-cost funding and streamlined approvals

• First home buyers needing a simple, affordable solution

Things to Consider

• Limited branch access

• Some white label loans may not have online banking that matches the majors

• Brand unfamiliarity can make some borrowers hesitant

Businesses change. They start up, they wind down, they diversify, they stall - and flourish. What appeared on the last batch of tax returns and financials may not reflect what business has been like this year - and that's where white labels shine. Several are content to use one or two of these documents: BAS, bank statements, accountant declaration, customer declaration. As brokers, we still must make sense of the figures on the declaration and documents compared to the mandatory docs required by our broker aggregator to ensure there's no notable differences. You still need to supply us your tax returns and so on for compliance - but the documents supplied to the white label lenders are just what the lender requires.

Example:

I have a client who acquired an existing trading business 2 years ago. Unbeknownst to him, he soon found out that many of the jobs the business had upcoming were in fact remedial work for jobs poorly executed by the prior owner. So, there was much unpaid work done, according to the last set of lodged financials. This year? The remedial work is now complete, formerly displeased clients are now pleased - and the owner can focus on business development and profitable work. Last financials reflect a loss. This year is over $300k in net profit, according to the BAS statements. We will use a white label lender for this application (a refinance from a private lender at an eye-watering 11%), using a letter signed by their accountant declaring the current profitability and how this has been evaluated - to take the clients to a rate in the mid-6s. Still not a big-bank rate - the clients acknowledge they are likely a year or so from this, because they'll need to have at least a year of strong financials to fit their requirements. But they're thrilled with a 4.5% rate drop!

If you're wanting to borrow or refinance, but your most recent tax returns don't reflect uplifted income or other improvements - we have options for you. Get in touch today to discuss further.