A panel of representatives from major intermediary lenders have urged mortgage brokers to focus on ‘know your customer’ processes in order to enjoy a successful 2014.
Speaking at the Financial Services Expo (FSE) yesterday, a panel comprised of lending figures such as David Finlay (Woolwich), Graham Sellar (Santander), James Chidgey (Nationwide) and Charles Haresnape (Aldermore), all spoke about the need for brokers to collect as much information about their clients as possible, particularly in the new Mortgage Market Review (MMR) environment.
Sellar urged brokers to spend as much time as possible securing all information from the client upfront while Haresnape said: “MMR refocuses the mind – the majority of brokers do know their customers and they should keep getting to know them better.”
Haresnape also used FSE 2013 to announce that Aldermore would be offering Help to Buy 2 products from 1 January 2014. He did however express disappointment that the Government had brought forward the start of the scheme and said the lender’s own systems were not likely to be ready to ‘warehouse’ applications prior to the original launch date. Finlay, Sellar and Chidgey all said their organisations were still considering their position and were unable to confirm or deny their involvement.
When asked how they saw the general lending market might pan out in 2014, Haresnape was the most bullish about gross mortgage lending figures suggesting they could ‘nudge £200bn’ however Sellar was more conservative at £180bn, with Finlay and Chidgey anticipating potential growth of up to £185bn.
