NAB plans to cut as many as 2,500 positions, around 6% of its workforce, by the 2027 financial year. About 1,500 of those go before this calendar year ends. The bank is also cutting back on consultants and outside contractors.
The headline is about jobs. The more useful read for property investors and borrowers is what the money is being redirected to: the bank’s own lending channels.
Where the savings are going
The bank says the cost savings will fund growth in proprietary home lending, business banking and deposits. It expects redundancy, redeployment and redesign costs of $300 million before tax in FY27.
The chief executive says customer-facing roles will not be materially affected. Senior management layers have been trimmed most deeply, and corporate functions are the main target. Whether any broker-related jobs are touched has not been confirmed.
That last point matters. A bank can cut corporate overhead and still change how it treats third-party distribution. Those are separate decisions, but they tend to travel together.
Key numbers
- Up to 2,500 roles cut, about 6% of staff, by FY27
- Around 1,500 reductions before the end of this calendar year
- $300 million pre-tax restructure cost in FY27
- Proprietary channels wrote 47.7% of home loans in the half to 31 March, up from 41.4% in the prior half
- Proprietary share reached 50% in March
The proprietary shift is the real story
The jump from 41.4% to 47.7% in a single half is large for a lender of this size. Hitting 50% in March means the bank’s own branches, bankers and digital channels are now writing as many loans as brokers and other third parties combined.
So what’s driving it? The numbers alone do not say. Broker channels carry commission and trail costs, and a lender under margin pressure has a clear reason to pull more volume through its own front door. Our recent look at small business lending margins sitting at a five-year low points to the same pressure across the sector: when spreads tighten, distribution costs get scrutinised.
That is an inference, not something the bank has stated. It is worth holding it loosely until the full-year result on 5 November 2026 gives more detail.
What it could mean for brokers
The reaction from the broking side is mixed. One broking executive sees a recruitment opportunity, with experienced bankers looking for a new home, but expects some short-term disruption to service. A Melbourne broker expects ex-bankers to move into broking and argues that personalised advice is the answer to chatbots and automated service.
Both views are plausible. Here’s the catch: more brokers chasing the same pool of borrowers does not help if a major lender is simultaneously winning more volume direct. Competition could tighten for broker businesses even as the pool of talent grows.
For borrowers, the effect is less obvious. A bank pushing its own channels may sharpen pricing on direct products to win volume. It may also mean fewer chances to compare lenders side by side if more of the market flows through one channel. If you are weighing up a refinance or a purchase, it still pays to check a broker’s panel and a bank’s direct rate, because they will not always match. Borrowing capacity is already under pressure for many investors, as we covered in the squeeze on investor borrowing capacity, so small rate differences matter.
The service and oligopoly question
A governance academic cited in the coverage expects AI to substitute for more roles, further cuts to follow, and growing concern about the loss of human contact in what is effectively an oligopoly. That is one expert’s view rather than the bank’s plan.
The broader point is fair, though. When a handful of large lenders control most of the market, how they cut costs affects what borrowers can access. Fewer staff in corporate and support functions can mean slower processing, less flexibility on complex deals and more reliance on automation. Those effects usually show up first with self-employed borrowers, investors with multiple properties and anyone whose application does not fit a standard box.
What to watch
Three things will tell us more:
- Whether the bank confirms any change to its broker-facing teams or commission structure
- Whether the proprietary share holds above 50% or slips back
- What the full-year result on 5 November 2026 says about margins and lending growth
If you are a borrower, the practical step is simple: get quotes from both a broker and the bank directly before you commit, and compare the rate, fees and turnaround times. If you are a broker, expect the competition for good borrowers to get tougher, not easier.
Want the weekly signal on rates, credit and lending competition? Subscribe to the newsletter.
General info, not financial advice.
