Julian Barnes
Julian Barnes focuses on how funding structures, regulation and technology shifts reshape the lending and credit market, with an emphasis on the way capital flows from investors into mortgage and consumer finance products. He is listed as the contact for editorial enquiries at Broker Daily, underscoring a central editorial role alongside his reporting. His recent work tracks non-bank lenders, major banks, policymakers and emerging credit models through deal terms, policy detail and operational metrics rather than broad commentary.
Capital markets and non-bank lenders
Barnes spends significant time on residential mortgage-backed securities and other capital markets funding used by non-bank lenders.
His coverage of Thinktank’s 11th RMBS transaction highlights deal size, issuance history and the lender’s use of capital markets as a core funding channel. In his reporting on Firstmac’s $2 billion RMBS issue, he again anchors the story in transaction volume and market conditions, positioning the deal against recent volatility.
He follows loan book growth and funding milestones at specialist and challenger lenders as closely as the headline banks. His piece on Judo Bank’s quarterly results centres on loan book size, growth against targets and the lender’s position in the SME market. Coverage of Metro Finance’s loan book reaching $6 billion similarly foregrounds balance sheet scale and trajectory, showing a consistent focus on how lenders convert funding access into portfolio growth.
Barnes also tracks how non-bank and specialty lenders plug into broker distribution and commercial channels. His story on Bluestone joining the Loan Market Group commercial panel describes how panel appointments expand broker access for self-employed and commercial clients, tying lender strategy to broker economics. Across these articles, he treats RMBS issuance, panel deals and loan book metrics as concrete indicators of lender positioning rather than background detail.
Bank strategy, product settings and leadership
Alongside non-bank lenders, Barnes covers how major banks adjust lending policy and product design. His reporting on Westpac easing investor lending policy details documentation changes for rental income, treatment of refinancing, and the extension of interest-only terms, showing how policy shifts translate into everyday borrowing conditions. He treats these rule changes as operational levers that reshape investor behaviour and broker advice.
He follows strategic hires and leadership moves when they materially affect lending and growth plans. In his piece on Msquared Capital appointing a new chief commercial officer, he links the executive move directly to lending milestones and origination expansion after passing $1.5 billion in commercial lending. The story frames people decisions as part of a broader funding and growth narrative rather than standalone corporate news.
Barnes extends this approach into bank technology leadership, treating tech roles as integral to the credit and customer strategy. His coverage of Commonwealth Bank’s overhaul of its technology leadership structure, with new group chief information and group chief technology officers, explains how responsibilities split between business-aligned technology delivery and enterprise technology foundations.
The article connects these appointments to digital, data and AI capabilities, fraud detection systems and the bank’s ambition to deliver more resilient technology for customers, reinforcing his interest in the operational underpinnings of finance.
Regulation, oversight and housing policy
Regulatory settings and government policy are a recurring thread in Barnes’s work, often examined for their impact on investors and brokers. His article on draft capital gains tax changes focuses on how the proposed rules target foreign investors, outlining consultation timelines and the specific mechanisms used to alter investment incentives.
He treats legislative drafts as practical instruments that reshape deal flow and property investment rather than abstract policy.
He returns to housing policy through the lens of superannuation and borrowing rules. In covering the housing industry’s call to rethink restrictions on self-managed super fund borrowing, he reports how industry bodies push for limited borrowing for new homes until independent assessment of the rules, reflecting his interest in how policy filters into housing supply and investment structures. These stories connect regulatory design to the availability and form of housing finance.
Barnes also addresses enforcement and fraud when it intersects with property and disability housing.
His piece on a developer charged over an alleged $10 million disability housing fraud scheme describes investor funds being diverted into assets such as a pub, cryptocurrency and a luxury car, tying criminal allegations directly to misuse of investment structures. The coverage emphasises the consequences of weak governance in specialised housing schemes and the risks to investors when oversight fails.
Credit risk, consumer trends and adjacent markets
Beyond lender strategy and regulation, Barnes follows how credit risk patterns change across products. In reporting that mortgages are no longer the most protected debt, he uses data from business credit monitoring to show that mortgages are now as likely as credit cards to reach serious arrears, signalling a shift in household stress and repayment priorities. The story reflects his tendency to ground broader themes of financial resilience in specific delinquency metrics.
He also picks up adjacent market trends when they intersect with financing and asset demand. His article on electric vehicle market share tripling as car sales hit record highs details battery electric vehicles’ share of total sales, casting EV uptake as a structural shift in the vehicle market. The framing suggests an interest in how consumer demand and technology choices in sectors like autos feed into financing needs and portfolio composition.
Housing investment models and home equity solutions are another recurring interest. His coverage of LongView’s second Home Equity Fund launch explains how the fund creates new pathways for investment in the residential property market, again focusing on investment structures rather than lifestyle angles. Across these pieces on arrears, EV adoption and home equity funds, Barnes treats data points and product design as the primary lens for understanding where risk and opportunity are moving in the real economy.
4 more finance journalists.
Aaron Bell
Aaron Bell stands out for turning broker research and complex market commentary into clear stories for everyday investors. He writes about the Australian share market as a journalist for The Motley Fool Australia and also works as a freelance journalist and editor focused on financial topics and the Australian economy. His beat covers ASX-listed companies and exchange-traded funds. He writes on broker recommendations, valuation changes, price targets, upside forecasts, earnings results, guidance, and share price reactions. He also covers thematic and emerging markets ETFs, NASDAQ-focused funds, and sectors such as space-related industries. In his reporting, he uses numbers, rating changes, and target prices to explain risk, reward, and what has changed in the business.
Adam McCleery
Adam McCleery tracks the money and deals shaping advertising and media agencies. He is a journalist at AdNews, covering agency pitches, account moves, media buying decisions, budgets, contracts and settlements. His beat sits between finance, media and marketing, with a focus on advertiser confidence, commercial outcomes and the pressures facing agencies, brands and media owners. He reports on television, streaming, subscription models and platform strategies, as well as artificial intelligence, data, privacy and ad technology. His past work spans print, digital and business-to-business titles. He writes in a straightforward, deal-driven style. He follows how brands review, consolidate or shift agency relationships, and how pricing, measurement, fragmentation, policy and economic conditions affect spending, investment, risk and the value of agency services.
Adelaide Miller
Adelaide Miller is an award-winning national business reporter at the ABC who stands out for linking markets coverage with accountability reporting on how finance, regulation and corporate decisions affect workers, consumers and small businesses. She covers superannuation, small business obligations, the ASX, global indices, inflation, government debt, investor sentiment, cryptocurrency, corporate conduct, mortgage stress, and consumer impact. She reports on the gap between legislative intent and on-the-ground practice, and she often uses data, live markets context, and direct reporting from affected people. Her background includes ABC Investigations, Background Briefing, and Four Corners. She also has reported on AI-driven political campaigning, Telstra’s Senate inquiry scrutiny, family law, and a personal essay on her grandmother’s dementia. She works across TV, radio, online, and podcast formats.
Adeshola Ore
Adeshola Ore reports on finance and public policy through their effects on everyday life. They are a reporter at the Guardian, covering tax debates, public spending, institutional policy and the communities shaped by them. Their beat also includes politics, rights, social equity, climate, migration, Indigenous policy, agriculture, food safety and public health. Notable reporting has covered bird flu and egg supplies, catastrophic floods, death cap mushroom poisonings, refugee communities, university misconduct and place-naming rules in Tasmania. Earlier work included global climate conferences, international affairs and social policy. Ore reports through live political coverage, ground-level interviews, documents and hearings. They write news features and explainers that clarify complex rules, risks and rights. They also contribute to the Guardian’s daily news podcast, bringing field reporting and interviews with affected communities into wider discussions of politics and policy.