(23 February 2026 – Australia) The A$4.5 trillion superannuation sector is now a larger source of funding for Australian corporates than traditional bank sources according to the Association of Superannuation Funds Australia (ASFA).
Capital Brief’s Jack Derwin reports that APRA-regulated funds and self-managed super funds (SMSFs) now account for 44 cents out of every dollar of Australian corporate borrowings compared to 36 cents derived from banks. Super funding is overwhelmingly invested in the form of listed equity.
“The seismic shift in domestic funding holds significant consequences for Australia as superannuation swells beyond A$4.5 trillion. Booming private credit, another surging corporate sourcing of funding according to exclusive East & Partners research, meanwhile has provided opportunities to lend, even as ASIC looks to take a greater supervisory role in the A$200 billion asset class” stated Capital Brief Markets and Finance Correspondent, Jack Derwin.
“It matters for everyday Australians because they increasingly have an ownership stake in the Australian economy. It matters at a system wide level as well, affecting how we provide funding to businesses in order for them to innovate and drive productivity, and how we really drive growth in this country” ASFA CEO Mary Delahunty stated for Capital Brief.
“The thesis that we are open to is that you might actually need a mix of different sized funds, including some smaller ones and some larger ones, to provide enough capital market depth to invest in different ways. Banks still remain the most appropriate, and at 95 percent, the largest funding source for unincorporated businesses like sole traders” Delahunty added.