28/05/2026
What a day yesterday at the 2026 SFG Commercial Summit!
We were proud to host our most successful Commercial Summit yet, bringing together SFG Members, commercial lenders, brokers, presenters and partners for a full day focused on what it means to Be Commercial.
Check out some of the action here: https://dijanar.pic-time.com/client/2026-sfg-commercial-summit
The day opened with David Koch AM, who delivered a strong session on going Beyond Residential - unpacking the commercial, industrial and retail property opportunity, and how Brokers can start having broader conversations with clients who may already be heavily exposed to residential property.
A key takeaway from the morning was clear: commercial is not just a different product. It requires a different way of thinking around yield, lease quality, tenant covenant, valuation, risk and client strategy.
From there, we moved into a Commercial Lender Session with ANZ, BOQ Group, La Trobe Financial and Westpac, joined on panel by James Freeman.
After morning tea, William Lockett sat down with Matt Spears and Kheng Tu for a Two for One session exploring the commercial opportunity for Brokers, what they are seeing in the market and how Brokers can better position themselves to have stronger commercial conversations with their clients.
Blake Buchanan then led our Commercial Speed Dating session, with Robert Taylor, Neal van Niekerk and Danny Tran answering questions and sharing practical insights from their side of the market.
We then moved into our Broker Panel - Live Deal Scenarios, hosted by Trent Carter, with Nick Anderson, Stuart Wilson and Grace Chen unpacking real examples, commercial scenarios and the practical conversations Brokers need to be having with clients.
In the afternoon, Trent Carter delivered a valuable session on Writing a Winning Credit Paper. A key takeaway from Trent’s session was simple but important - strong commercial submissions are built on logic, evidence, cash flow and risk, not just a well-written story. Brokers are often the first credit assessor in the transaction, so slowing down to structure the deal properly can speed up the outcome with lenders.
We closed out the formal sessions with an Asset & Equipment Lender Session featuring Pepper Money ANZ, Firstmac and Mhairi MacLeod.
The message across the day was consistent: commercial lending is not just about finding a product. It is about understanding the client’s business, asking better questions, identifying the real need and structuring the right solution around it.
The broker opportunity is clear. The demand is there. The support is there.
A sincere thank you to our Commercial Education Sponsors, all presenters, all attendees and the fantastic SFG Team for bringing yesterday’s event together.
Events like these would not be possible without your support.
