What are business loan interest rates in Australia right now?

Read the averages for what they are. RBA Table F7 blends every business loan on bank books, and most of that lending is secured against property. A small business rate of 7.39% p.a. is what an established borrower with bricks-and-mortar security pays, after weeks of assessment and with the family home often sitting behind the facility. The residentially secured average of 6.96% p.a. makes the point: security buys the rate down.

Unsecured non-bank lending prices differently because the risk is different. The lender has no asset to recover if things go wrong, so it wears the full cash-flow risk of your business. Facilities through the non-bank panel we work with typically price between 15 and 30 per cent p.a. That is not a hidden margin; it is what taking property off the table costs. In exchange, decisions arrive in hours rather than weeks, assessment runs on bank statements rather than two years of financials, and no property is pledged.

Paying more is rational when the money earns more than it costs, or when the alternative is worse. A contractor bridging a certified progress claim, a retailer landing stock ahead of peak season, or an operator taking on a contract that needs upfront outlay can each do the sums: the margin on the opportunity against the cost of the facility. When the sums work and property security is either unavailable or not worth pledging, a dearer unsecured facility is the sensible trade. When they do not work, no rate is cheap enough. Our repayment calculator helps you run those numbers, and if the purchase is plant or vehicles, equipment finance secured against the asset itself usually prices below an unsecured loan, and the instant asset write-off can bring part of the cost back at tax time.