But when you take a step back and look at the broader picture, beyond the latest difficulties, the relationship between lenders and brokers is actually quite encouraging.
Our latest Mortgage Lender Benchmark study – which covered the first half of 2023 – actually found that overall broker satisfaction has hit a new record high.
Across all lenders, satisfaction increased by four percentage points from the second half of last year to reach 83.4 per cent. This grew even further to 85.7 per cent for building societies, while specialist lenders saw the biggest improvement, moving from 75 per cent to 82 per cent.
That lenders bounced back following the difficulties of the post mini Budget period, and focused on delivering what brokers and borrowers need, is a real cause for optimism about the long-term health of the mortgage market.
Ease of process makes the difference
One of the biggest factors that lay behind a broker’s decision to recommend an individual lender, according to our latest survey, is the ease of dealing with the lender. That covers everything from the initial application to the ongoing relationship with the lender throughout the case.
There’s an important lesson for lenders here. Being easy to deal with is always valuable, but in tumultuous times – and the market has certainly been through its share of upheaval lately – it becomes even more crucial. Brokers want to deliver the best possible experience to their clients, particularly when there are tight deadlines at play, and so being able to work with lenders who remove some of the additional stress is crucial.
Tied into this were underwriting and speed of service. There’s no question that speed has been of the utmost importance in recent months, with borrowers needing to move quickly as rates have risen sharply.
Lenders who can deliver flexible underwriting and then get the case over the line promptly have understandably stood out to brokers from lenders who perhaps have been a little more prescriptive when assessing cases, or who have dragged their feet over progressing an application.
It’s good to talk
One of the big trends that we’ve seen during the recent turbulence has been the importance of good communication.
Matters have changed incredibly quickly, and lenders have been forced to respond. There’s been a real domino effect – funding costs have grown, and lenders have been very aware not only of maintaining margins but also the risk of being overwhelmed by attracting too much business.
It’s notable that lenders who have been able to deliver a consistently high standard of communication, ensuring that brokers understand not only what is changing by why, have been rated strongly by intermediaries.
Recently, there’s been times when debate has raged about whether the role of the business development manager (BDM) even has a future in the mortgage industry, yet we’ve seen precisely why it’s such a crucial position. BDMs are a valuable bridge between brokers and lenders, and if anything have become more integral to delivering a good experience to borrowers as cases have become increasingly complex.
Learning lessons
Only time will tell how the latest market disruption will impact satisfaction ratings for the second half of this year. There’s an obvious challenge for lenders to meet here, in maintaining those quality channels of communication and continuing to deliver an acceptable speed to offer.
During the pandemic, we saw that brokers were scathing about lenders who did not return swiftly, or adapt their processes and procedures to meet changing needs. Brokers are obviously understanding of the pressures that lenders face, but that understanding will only stretch so far. They expect lenders to continue to invest in their online systems, to deliver competitive products, fair underwriting and be transparent in their communication.
Lenders who have learned from previous mistakes – whether their own or those of their peers – and are able to meet those expectations will continue to win favour from intermediaries in the second half of this year and beyond.
