Masthaven Bank’s latest Broker Beat survey, which questioned 120 individuals to gauge the insights and opinions of brokers working in the specialist lending market, also revealed that 66 per cent of intermediaries believed the greatest attraction of greater use of technology would be an accelerated process.
Many in the specialist lending market believe that technology can create a faster and more efficient service for customers. More than a quarter of brokers said they recognised the role automation could play in removing “wasted effort” from the mortgage process. This was supported by 91 per cent of brokers who felt that the specialist mortgage market should not be threatened by automation, since the complexity of cases meant bespoke underwriting and personalised service will always be needed. As a result, 63 per cent of brokers said they believed robo-underwriting would never completely replace humans.
When asked about the technology trends set to have the biggest impact on the market, 30 per cent said they thought the development of affordability calculators would have the largest effect, followed by ‘robo-advice’ at 21 per cent and APIs with 18 per cent.
From the survey, 13 per cent of intermediaries also cited the use of live chat technologies, which 19 per cent said they were already using, with a further 13 per cent planning to do so in the future.
Jon Hall, managing director at Masthaven, said: “It is exciting to see that both customers and brokers are embracing new technology to help make the lending process at smooth as possible. The industry has long been aware of the issues associated with outdated technology and paper-based processes, and it seems as if we are finally turning a corner.
“With the support of lenders and regulators, brokers can begin to incorporate automation technologies with their expertise to deliver specialised, personalised services that satisfy the needs of their customers.”
He added that which being digitally-focused was “a must”, automation and speed would “never replace the support and face-to-face interaction customers want”.
Hall said: “Brokers should see technology as a way to reduce their workloads and free up additional time to focus on their customers’ needs.”
