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HSBC assures brokers ‘we are not avoiding small DA firms’

Samantha Partington
Written By:
Posted:
May 16, 2017
Updated:
May 16, 2017

HSBC’s head of mortgages said the bank’s roll out of its products through appointed representative (AR) brokers was not a sign it placed less value on the importance of directly authorised (DA) firms.

In an interview with Mortgage Solutions, Tracie Pearce talked about the crucial first years of entering the intermediary sector and the unforgivable scenario of arriving with a fanfare and failing to deliver.

“You get one shot to enter this market properly and we wanted to make sure it was a really positive experience for everybody. Us, the brokers and the customer,” she said.

Following a pilot programme with Countrywide which launched in October 2014, the bank officially launched in August the following year with the addition of London and Country to its panel. At the start of May, IFA and mortgage network In Partnership was the 19th firm to be invited on to the panel, which is predominately made up of AR firms.

“We are not avoiding small DA firms,” said Pearce. “The intermediary distribution roll out has been slow and controlled with a focus on larger networks first, because of the ease of dealing with one compliance department which covers many advisers.”

Once the AR roll out is complete, the bank will develop the next phase.

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Deliberate expansion

Pearce added: “We have been deliberate and cautious in the speed at which we have entered each of our partnerships, to make sure we can support them. So far it has worked, we haven’t let anyone down.

“That for me was more important than getting right to the end of the on-boarding process as quickly as possible. We want to do this properly, do it justice and without upsetting people.

“I didn’t want to go into this market and cause a fuss and a storm by giving people poor service. I have seen it happen before too many times in this industry. It wasn’t going to happen under my watch.”

Watch out for the full interview with Tracie Pearce on Mortgage Solutions this week.