This time we are putting Jeremy Duncombe, head of field sales at Abbey for Intermediaries, on the spot with the following question:
Q: The market is tough at the minute and I feel that I need to enhance what my business offers. How can lenders support me to do that?
A: There’s no denying that market conditions remain challenging, with the latest figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders estimating that gross mortgage lending in June totalled £11.9bn, a 5% fall from the previous month and down by the same amount year on year.
While economic conditions remain difficult, however, we believe the current market also presents intermediaries with a number of opportunities and that a business development manager (BDM) can support intermediaries in adding real value to their clients.
Whether out in the field or telephony based, a BDM is there to help with much more than just product and pricing queries. BDMs can support intermediaries by providing education and information on lending policies and procedures, guiding intermediaries through difficult cases, and helping intermediaries navigate lender systems more efficiently.
Our average time from application to offer is just 10.3 days (week ending 29th July), but many of our intermediary partners can reduce that figure even further by working closely with their BDM to ensure that their cases are fully packaged, and that the correct income figure is used in every case. BDMs are also there to act as a consultant and to offer intermediaries the bespoke support they need for their businesses.
Diversification is key in today’s mortgage market and this is another area where BDMs can really offer support. By focusing on the wider holistic needs of the clients, intermediaries can enhance the service they offer and establish themselves as a one stop shop for the client.
This in turn will generate additional income for the intermediary and support both their client retention and referral levels.
In addition to general insurance products, Santander Intermediary Distribution offers a range of cash management products through Cater Allen, which mortgage intermediaries are able to sell.
While RDR doesn’t impact the mortgage market, the advent of fee charging in the IFA world is likely to impact consumers’ expectation of what they expect from their adviser and we believe that the move towards offering a more holistic solution throughout the financial services industry is a positive one, firmly putting the customer at the heart of the process rather than a particular product.
We are committed to distributing more products through intermediaries and we’ve brought our two intermediary brands, Abbey for Intermediaries and Cater Allen, together under the same management to support this.
We’re also developing a process which will allow intermediaries to refer their clients to Santander to open a new current account and receive an introduction fee for all successful account openings.
We’ve seen the role of a BDM evolve significantly since the onset of the financial crisis. As intermediaries continue to develop their business and diversify their offering, BDMs will be there to support them through this evolution.
