Mortgage lenders have been developing the range of banking products available as part of a mortgage such as current accounts, overdrafts, unsecured loans and credit cards, for some time.
There seems to be a substantial demand for it, and lenders have used them to acquire new customers or to cross sell to existing customers.
The traditional way of both marketing and operating these products has been through the use of high street branches.
This is then supported by postal and television advertising campaigns.
However, most lenders ‘ and not only those without a high-street presence ‘ are keen to use more modern means of communication.
There is no doubt that an increasing number of customers are willing to access these products, either by telephone or online.
To some extent, the demand among sections of the population is limited by an unfamiliarity or unwillingness to transact online. However, this will change as the younger, more computer-literate customer, becomes part of a larger, more influential borrowing group.
Some lenders have achieved success through linking banking facilities with a mortgage, for example, current account and offset mortgages.
Most of these lenders have brands not associated with the high street, and the sale of competitively-priced flexible deals has secured captive databases for the marketing of the more profitable banking products.
As demand increases for online transactions, lenders will respond with an increasing number and variety of banking facilities.
Stuart Johnson
