Know Your BDM: Annie Crust, Hampshire Trust Bank

Which locations and how many advisers and broker firms do you cover in your role at Hampshire Trust Bank (HTB)?

I cover the Midlands, from East Cheshire across to Doncaster and from Lincoln down to Coventry. The Midlands has immense potential, and HTB has shown great commitment to the region by bringing me on board as a dedicated BDM for the region.

I’m excited to build a stronger relationship with brokers in the Midlands who have already used HTB, as well as bring on board some of those advisers who haven’t yet experienced the benefits of our products and processes.

What personal talent/skill is most valuable in doing your job?

I think the best talent any BDM can have is the ability to look for reasons to do the deals presented to us. That means being aware of the complexities of a case, weighing it up, and applying the right criteria to ensure it fits within our appetite.

That’s particularly the case with HTB and some of the more unique cases that we see and love lending on. Ultimately, it’s as much about common sense as it is about product knowledge.

What personal talent/skill would you most like to improve on?

Computer skills. There are times I despise myself because of it – spreadsheets are my nemesis.

What is the hardest part of your job?

I am not sure there is a ‘hard’ part of the job of BDM, really. I think brokers know all lenders have limits and won’t be able to take on every case. What’s important is that if it is going to be a ‘no’, the broker wants to know that – and why – on day one, rather than six weeks down the line.

That’s why it’s so crucial to focus on collaborating and communicating with brokers. If they understand why certain deals haven’t been possible, that can help them place cases more successfully with us in future.

To be honest, the hardest part is being out on the road and the middle-lane drivers on the motorways.

What do you love most about your job?

I love brokers, which is pretty important for a BDM.

I really enjoy meeting the advisers, getting to know them and gaining an understanding of their business and clients. It’s only by doing this that you can really gauge how you can best support them as a BDM, and what you can do to help them get more business over the line.

It’s an ethos we have across the business at HTB; the desire for our broker partners to see us as extra members of their team.

What is the best piece of career-related advice you’ve ever been given? Who gave it to you?

Some of the best advice I was ever given was as a 19-year-old. I thought I could take over the finance world, and I could learn everything I’d need to know within my first six months. My first-ever boss told me, “Even eagles must learn to fly”.

The upshot of that advice is that I have never stopped learning. Even 25 years into the industry, I learn constantly, and that’s what keeps me interested. It’s something that attracted me to this role at HTB, since the bank focuses so much on learning from our broker partners and using their feedback to improve what we offer and how we deliver it.

How do you keep up to date with developments in the market?

These days, we have access to so much information, both internally and externally.

Subscriptions and sites such as Mortgage Solutions are a fantastic source of information.

There’s also huge value in simply being out on the road, actively engaging with brokers and gaining insight into the challenges their clients face. You can’t beat the perspective brokers offer, particularly when it comes to recognising gaps in the market and how lenders can improve, in order to better support their clients.

What is the most quirky/unique property deal you’ve been involved in?

This is a difficult question to answer. I think I have seen all manner of weird and wonderful over my 25 years in the industry. Thankfully there are some lenders, like HTB, that aren’t put off by quirky cases and are actively looking for reasons to say yes. It’s about judging each case on its own merits, rather than being unduly concerned by the quirks involved.

Tell us about your trickiest case – what happened and how did you resolve the problem(s)?

My trickiest case was actually when I was a broker, faced with a 25-unit multi-unit freehold block (MUFB) student block. It had an eight-bed house of multiple occupancy (HMO) attached and commercial premises underneath.

This was the reason I came to HTB, as they were the only lender that could facilitate the deal, so before joining I already knew the breadth of criteria they offered and the certainty they gave in funding complex deals.

What was your motivation for choosing this career?

I don’t think I necessarily chose this as a career. I wanted to be a big city broker, but soon realised I am too much of a people person. Being a BDM is the perfect role for someone who wants to work in financial services but enjoys personal interaction and building relationships.

If you could do any other job in the property sector, what would it be and why?

I am very happy with my job at HTB; this is the right role for me right now.