CBA Declined Your Business Overdraft? Here's What to Do Next

Why CBA declines business overdrafts

CommBank is Australia's biggest bank, but their business overdraft criteria are strict. They typically require full financial statements, tax returns, 12+ months of BAS, strong credit history, and often property security. If your business doesn't tick every box, you get declined.

Common reasons CBA says no:

• Trading history under 2 years
• Tax returns not up to date
• Equifax score below 600 (CBA's threshold is higher than non-bank lenders)
• Insufficient property security for the amount requested
• ATO debt or payment plan on file
• Industry classified as "high risk" by the bank's internal policy

What non-bank lenders do differently

Non-bank lenders don't require tax returns, financial statements, or property security under $150K. They assess your business on 6 months of bank statements - your actual cash flow, not historical paperwork. This means businesses that are profitable and trading well but can't produce the documentation banks require can still get approved.

What to do after a CBA decline

1. Don't apply to another bank. NAB, ANZ, and Westpac have similar criteria. You'll get the same result and another credit enquiry on your file.
2. Come to a specialist broker. OverdraftMe compares 50+ non-bank lenders with one application and one credit enquiry. We know which lenders approve profiles that banks decline.
3. Same product, different lender. You'll get the same revolving overdraft facility - just through a non-bank lender with faster approval and simpler documentation.

We recently funded a $275K overdraft for a recruitment agency and a $60K facility for a construction business - both approved within 24 hours after bank declines.

Related

• Bank declined your overdraft - full guide
• Bank vs non-bank overdraft comparison
• What credit score do you need?