Halifax has been named the best mainstream lender and the top performer for overall broker experience in Smart Money People’s H2 2025 Mortgage Lender Benchmark, as overall satisfaction levels across the market reached their strongest point in five years.

The independent study, published twice a year, found that brokers rated their experience with lenders at an average of 4.25 out of five. This is the highest score recorded since 2020 and reflects improving service levels across the industry.

The mainstream lender sector led the way with a Broker Experience Index of 72.4, closely followed by buy-to-let specialist lenders at 72.1 and building societies at 71.2.

The overall index, which brings together scores for service, speed, digital tools and support, rose by 0.4 points to 71.0.

The research is now in its fifteenth edition and remains the largest broker feedback exercise in the market.

For H2 2025, Smart Money People gathered responses from 1,040 brokers across 537 firms, covering 120 lenders. The sample represents 98% of gross mortgage lending.

The average Net Promoter Score rose modestly over the half year, increasing to +41.3.

HALIFAX TOPS MULTIPLE CATEGORIES

Halifax continued its run as the highest-rated mainstream lender and retained its position at the top of the overall broker experience rankings.

Coventry Building Society was named the strongest building society, while Pure Retirement was the highest-rated later life lender.

Pepper Money held onto its position as the leading specialist lender. BM Solutions remained the top buy-to-let specialist lender, and Allica Bank once again took the bridging and commercial category. Atom bank was named the best digital-first lender.

CONSISTENCY REMAINS A KEY DIFFERENTIATOR

Jake Sandford, head of data and analytics at Smart Money People, said: “With overall satisfaction across the industry remaining high, it’s encouraging that mainstream lenders, like Halifax are leading the way.

“With lenders in this group receiving a high proportion of business written by mortgage brokers, it’s clear that the experience they offer to brokers matters and is an area that they place huge importance in.

“In addition, it’s always encouraging to see lenders such as Allica Bank and Pepper Money retain their top spots, as providing a consistent service offering is important to brokers and helps these lenders differentiate themselves in such a competitive environment.”