Mortgage and protection network Stonebridge obtained the data through a Freedom of Information request from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which showed that MAAs were used for just 100 product transfers in Q1, an 81.8% decline on the 550 transactions they supported last year.
Further, the number of MAAs used for remortgages rose 30.2% year-on-year to 5,828, with the share of borrowers using the eased rules to switch increasing from 87.7% to 98.3%.
This revealed that the share of MAA product transfers fell from 12.3% in Q1 last year to just 1.7% this year, despite the number of lenders using MAAs decreasing from 12 in the second half of last year to eight in Q1.
The FCA has allowed lenders to use MAAs since July last year, enacting this when borrowers want to reduce their mortgage term or when a mortgage with a new lender is cheaper.
The data showed that borrowers were refinancing more at lower rates, with external MAA remortgage rates 0.73 percentage points lower in Q1, averaging at 3.92%, while the average loan amount was 141% larger at £194,999.
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Rob Clifford, chief executive of Stonebridge, said: “You can see the hand of advisers at play here. They are harnessing the power of MAAs to release customers who felt they were locked in, by helping borrowers jump to better deals with new lenders.
“The use of product transfers dwindles, which reflects better consumer outcomes.”
Clifford said this indicated clear demand for MAAs and the FCA enabling lenders to “make common sense lending decisions” was constructive and could be more widely used.
He added: “This isn’t just about mortgage prisoners or those whose income has been more irregular. Plenty of entrepreneurs, for example, struggle to meet underwriting criteria after starting new businesses, despite paying a mortgage for years. It’s therefore pleasing to see the direction of travel in terms of lender adoption and brokers’ awareness.”
