Business loan

Some important things to consider before applying:

Security 

Depending on your circumstances, business loans can be unsecured or require security in the form of residential property, commercial property, or other types of security.  A guarantee will also be required by company directors for corporate borrowers.

Credit history 

All borrowers, owners, directors, and guarantors must have clear credit records. All statutory payments and ATO liabilities need to be up to date and not under arrangement. 

Banking and borrowing history 

Existing bank accounts and lending products must be within their approved limits. 

Domicile 

Your business must be registered in Australia.

The term of your Business Loan will vary depending on security offered (you may swap if your situation changes): 

• Loan term up to 30 years when residential property used as security 
• Loan term up to 25 years when commercial or rural property used as security 
• Loan term up to 5 years when unsecured (guarantee may be required). 

Yes, you can choose your repayment frequency from: 

• Weekly
• Fortnightly
• Monthly
• Quarterly 
• Half-yearly 
• Annually (principal only)

Additional fees may apply if you choose an interest charge cycle other than monthly or where repayments are interest in advance. 

Identification 

If you already bank with us, we won’t need your individual ID again if we already have it on file. 

If you are new to the bank, we will need to see ID, such as your driver's licence or passport. We may also need to see your business registration documents. 

Financial statements 

Most businesses will need to show: 

• Annual financial statements or a copy of tax returns 
• Interim financial statements, as required 
• A copy of the latest full tax portal report.

In some cases, we may need more information, such as:

• Business Activity Statements or cash flow statements 
• Recent management information appropriate to the risk and complexity of the loan (e.g. cash flow forecasts, management accounts, working asset statement etc.) 
• Projected financial information. 

Proof of individual income 

We may also want to know your personal income if you are a director and/or shareholder of a company. We’re likely to ask you for your most recent individual tax returns. 

If you earn other income unrelated to your business, or not shown in your tax return, you may want to provide this information as well. For example, you could show income from a rental property if you have one. 

Expenses 

We will want to know your expenses to ensure the loan repayments can be paid. Expenses include things like bills, living expenses, current loan repayments and credit card limits. We may also require financial statements that detail business expenses to help us determine whether your business can meet your future repayments. 

We’ll ask you three important questions when assessing your business loan application. 

1. Can you afford the business loan? 

We’ll need your financials for the last 2 years. This includes: 

• balance sheets 
• profit and loss 
• tax returns

This information helps us determine whether your business can meet future loan repayments.  

2. Can you provide security for your loan? 

You’ll usually need to secure your business loan with an asset or a form of guarantee. Residential, commercial or rural property is often used as security, but it depends on the type of business. 

Don’t have security to put down? Take a look at an unsecured business loan. 

3. Will you be able to continue making repayments? 

We’ll evaluate your business by talking to you about: 

• your future plans 
• competitor activity 
• your suppliers and business contracts.

This helps us determine whether your business will have enough revenue to meet your future repayments.

If you’re starting a new business, you’ll need to provide a detailed business plan with profit and loss forecasting to support your business loan application. 

If you’re buying an existing business you’ll need to show profit and loss statements for the last 2 years. 

Maintain accurate, up to date financials 

This provides a clear understanding of your business income and whether you can afford the business loan. 

Make sure you have enough money to cover costs 

If you have an existing business loan try to make extra repayments consistently if you can and don’t overdraw your account. 

Maintain a good credit history by paying off your debts on time 

All credit activity (personal and business) is kept on file for 5 years. This includes your loan details, repayments, overdue accounts. Lenders use this information to assess whether you’re credit worthy.

• Cash 
• Residential property 
• Commercial property  
• Business assets

Don’t have security to put down? Take a look at an unsecured business loan. 

To increase your borrowing power, many business loans are secured by an asset – usually property. The amount of equity available in the property helps to determine how much you can borrow. 

Generally, we'll lend you up to:

• 80% of a residential property value
• 65% of a commercial property value
• 70% of a rural property value

Whatever asset you use to secure your business loan, you can still sell it if you want to during the loan term. In some cases this may require our agreement. 

The following options are available depending on your situation. 

Sell your asset and repay the business loan 

If you choose to sell your asset, we may use the proceeds of the sale to repay your business loan. With any money left over will given back to you. 

Offer another asset to secure the business loan 

If you’re buying a new property or already have another property you can use as security, we may agree to use these to replace the existing security. We’ll usually need you to fill out some documents to make this change.  

Sell your asset and use the cash to secure the business loan 

If you want to sell your property but haven’t found another property to buy, we may hold the money from the sale of your property. This will secure the business loan until you buy another property or asset.   

You’ll usually need to provide us with some documentation for this arrangement. 

When you decide to sell your asset, it’s important to notify us first. We’ll need to let you know what we require to allow the sale to proceed smoothly.

When you request to take out a new business loan, you may be asked for a guarantee. A guarantee makes sure the business loan will be repaid. 

There are 2 types of guarantees:

1. First party guarantee

You guarantee the loan by providing security from an asset that you own, usually a property. This is the most common type of guarantee. 

2. Third party guarantee

In some cases you’ll need someone else (a person or entity that is not you - the borrower) to guarantee your business loan. They’ll need to provide security from one of their assets. 

If you can’t make your business loan repayments, we will ask the guarantor to pay them for you. In some cases, if the repayments aren’t being made, the guarantor may need to sell their asset to cover the remaining debt or offer further security.