Ian Balfour (pictured), CEO at Solent Mortgage Services, said that mainstream lenders were now fighting over ultra-prime borrowers seeking low LTV mortgages.
“Anything under 60-70% LTV, the bigger lenders are fighting it out but there are lots of good clients out there who would struggle on the high street,” he told Mortgage Solutions.
“The issue for smaller building societies is getting their message across compared to bigger lenders.
“The reason these lenders come to us is because we can manage their tranches. We have underwriters who have worked here for 20 years and we are careful about how much lenders take on.”
Balfour said that Precise Mortgages and GE Money were two of the lenders that were proving popular at present.
“Look at some of the rates, they are very good and wanting to help customers.
“Having a great working relationship with the lenders on our panel with whom we are in contact all the time, gives us a unique advantage over the broker who has occasional contact with the same lenders.”
Last week Jeremy Wood, chief executive of Dudley Building Society, said that smaller mutuals need to make a decision on whether to upskill staff to offer advice or send more mortgages through the intermediary channel.
