Speaking at The Mortgage Event in Bristol, Nationwide and Woolwich noted that brokers must also help lenders by ensuring applications are submitted with the supporting documentation needed and accurate information.
Andy Tilsley, regional sales manager at Nationwide and The Mortgage Works, said: “Our aspiration is to deliver cases in ten days, but there are issues. It is high on senior management’s list, as ultimately customers are at the bottom of this.
“We appreciate we have a problem and are not where we should be. We don’t want to be the limiting factor and in many instances, we are.”
He said it would take time to resolve the issue, due to the level of resources and time needed to recruit and train new staff to the right level.
However, Sarah Green, head of national accounts at Woolwich Mortgages from Barclays, added that brokers must help lenders by providing all the information needed with applications.
She said: “The proportion of business we get through that is not complete is phenomenal and higher than you would ever imagine. We all need to take responsibility as a team if we want a quick processing time.”
Green added that Woolwich will look to invest further in its systems next year.
Speaking on the same panel, Gareth Herbert, sales director at the Mortgage Advice Bureau, added that its administration team often dealt with incomplete cases from its brokers.
He said: “Good brokers make bad administrators.”
However, Herbert warned that lenders’ continuing focus on quality mortgage business could affect how they pay brokers in the future.
