Can I go ‘off-panel’ to settle a private loan?

27/08/2025

What if you have a client scenario that doesn’t quite fit any of the lenders on your panel?

As a broker, there’s nothing worse than having to say to a borrower that you’re not able to help them. Perhaps they need finance for a scenario that doesn’t fit within a traditional lender's remit. Or the borrower has a less-than-ideal credit history. Or the structure of the borrowing entity is a bit messy.

If you can’t find a lender on your aggregator panel that can assist, there may still be a way you can find a solution for your client.

Have a scenario you want to discuss?

PMA sign up

Submit a quick app form
Response time in just 4 business hours.
We'll gladly assist you and let you know if we can be of help.

Quick App (<10mins)

Benefits of going ‘off-panel’ Here at Private Mortgages Australia, we’ve worked with a number of brokers who have gone ‘off-panel’ in order to obtain much-needed finance for their client. The best way to do this is just to ask your aggregator if it would be ok for you to go ‘off-panel’ on this occasion as there is no other option staying ‘on-panel’. Most of the time it shouldn’t be an issue, and they may just require you to fill in a few forms.

Benefits of going ‘off-panel’

The best thing about going ‘off-panel’ is that you’re going to be able to help the borrower to obtain finance in what is more than likely a difficult situation. Being able to say that you have the solution to their problem is going to make your client very happy, strengthen your relationship with them and hopefully turn them into a life-long customer. All positives for your business.

Secondly, working with a private lender like PMA means that you’ll also earn generous referral fees for settling the loan. At PMA, the referring broker receives their commission 24 hours after settlement and there are no clawbacks. We’re also channel agnostic which means that if the borrower comes back to PMA directly for another loan in future, as you referred them to us in the first place you’ll still receive the commission for the new loan.

Even if you’ve never settled a private loan before, or are even new to commercial loans in general, PMA is here to help you and your borrower through the entire loan process. Our Relationship Managers will guide you every step of the way and make it as simple as possible for all involved.

Finally, a private loan will often be refinanced at a later date to a traditional lender which means that you’ll have the repeat business from one borrower. Due to the short-term nature of private loans, and also the fact that private loans are often used for bridging purposes, a high percentage of borrowers who have taken out a private loan will refinance once they’ve got their financials in order or they’ve got themselves into a position that would be attractive to a mainstream lender.

When can Private Mortgages Australia help?

At PMA, we help when traditional banks can’t. We specialise in funding scenarios that are considered too complex, too urgent, or too “outside the box” for mainstream lenders.

When can Private Mortgages Australia help

Whether your client has a strong business case but doesn’t tick the usual bank boxes, or needs access to funds quickly, PMA provides tailored lending solutions designed to meet real-world business needs.

Unlike traditional finance institutions, we don’t focus on credit history or serviceability when assessing the feasibility of the loan. Instead, we focus on the business and the proposed exit strategy.

This allows us to accommodate trickier scenarios by tailoring loan terms specific to the needs of the borrower. Moreover, by not relying on rigid serviceability guidelines, our application process is much faster than banks, making it ideal for business owners who may need funding within tight guidelines.

This flexible approach allows us to help in situations where timing is critical, security is non-standard, or projects are partially complete. For example, we can consider:

Loans secured by regional property
Funding based on valuation rather than purchase price
Finance for partially completed construction projects

Loan Scenarios We Can Assist With

PMA can help with a wide range of business funding needs, including:

If you are a broker and have a business lending scenario you would like to discuss, or, if you have queries on any of PMA’s commercial finance products, feel free to contact us or you can complete our Quick App form here (< 10 mins).