TLDR: The Bank of Queensland (BOQ) has entered a significant long-term partnership with digital lending technology leader Trade Ledger, powered by advanced AI platforms from Trade Ledger and Microsoft. This collaboration aims to transform asset finance lending for Australian businesses, promising faster, more efficient, and highly accessible financial solutions. The announcement also follows a recent loan sale by the bank.
Brisbane, Australia – The Bank of Queensland (BOQ) Group has announced a groundbreaking long-term partnership with Trade Ledger, a global leader in digital lending technology, to fundamentally transform its asset finance lending operations. This strategic alliance, unveiled in late March 2025, is set to revolutionize how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and corporate clients access financial solutions through BOQ Finance.
The core of this innovative partnership lies in the integration of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) platforms from both Trade Ledger and Microsoft. This technological backbone will create a “banking industry-first, hyper-automated IT infrastructure” specifically for the asset finance domain. The initiative is designed to modernize BOQ’s entire asset finance lending ecosystem, moving towards a fully digitized process.
According to Martin McCann, co-founder and CEO of Trade Ledger, this collaboration establishes a new benchmark for asset finance lending. “Together with BOQ, we’re setting a new standard for asset finance lending by accelerating credit decisions and driving economic growth for SMEs,” McCann stated. He further emphasized that this is “more than modernization – it’s a step in the reimagination of SME asset finance lending in Australia, led by BOQ Finance.”
Craig Ryman, Chief Information Officer at BOQ, highlighted the strategic importance of the partnership. “The outcomes of our partnership with Trade Ledger will signify a major leap forward in delivering agile and customer-focused asset finance solutions. With Microsoft’s technology as the backbone, we’re now positioned to create a fully digitized asset finance lending solution,” Ryman commented.
The expected benefits of this hyper-automated system are substantial. Projections indicate a potential 60% reduction in origination costs, a 50% decrease in customer dropouts, and a remarkable loan book growth potential of over 100% through embedded lending capabilities. These efficiencies are crucial for accelerating credit decisions and providing seamless experiences for brokers and customers alike.
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While the primary focus of this announcement is the AI-driven lending transformation, the Bank of Queensland has also confirmed a recent loan sale. Further details regarding the specifics of this loan sale were not immediately available, but the move underscores BOQ’s ongoing strategic adjustments within its financial portfolio. The combination of a significant technology partnership and a loan sale indicates a period of dynamic change and strategic repositioning for the Bank of Queensland in the competitive Australian financial landscape.
