Over half the attendees or 50.9% of the vote at the IMLA Great Mortgage Debate agreed today’s market is as big as it is going to get for mortgage brokers, where 49.1% disagreed.
The vote followed a question from Dev Malle, group sales director at Myhomemove who asked the panel whether lenders’ digital strategy will become a threat to brokers in the way online taxi marketplace Uber is to black cabs in London.
Peter Curran, managing director, financial services at Countrywide, said this inevitable and made sense that lenders will try to retain customers through technology for simpler activities like remortgaging.
“People don’t buy houses that often and advisers will be key for many years to come,” he said.
FCA mortgage sector manager Lynda Blackwell said the regulator is ‘distribution neutral’ despite the fact 97% of mortgage applicants are currently getting advice.
But added: “My own view is that digitisation will change the market. It’s how they get advice that will change,” she said, adding that lenders will be speaking to customers via screens on tablets, for example.
From the audience Matt Lowndes, managing director at mortgage adviser Coreco, said the biggest threat to brokers is not using technology to communicate with a whole new generation.
Another broker from the audience agreed that lenders are in a strong position but suggested brokers are in a stronger one in terms of customer relationships, adding ‘we can counter anything lenders throw at us.’
Chairman of IMLA and group managing director of mortgages at Aldermore Bank, Charles Haresnape, said pitting lenders against brokers in the digital discussion was unhelpful.
“I don’t think we should be focusing on one or the other,” he said.
“Lenders ought to improve their technology across all distribution channels.”
