Borrowers’ faith in independent financial advice remains, despite the difficulty in getting mortgage, according to research carried out on behalf of Kensington.

44% of respondents said they now have less confidence in their ability to get the right mortgage product for their needs as a result of the banking crisis. A further 27% said they had the same amount of confidence, and only 2% said they now have more confidence than they did prior to the downturn.

However, consumers are still reassured by independent advice, with 45% saying they felt an independent adviser was best placed to find them the right mortgage – nearly twice as many as bank or building society, which was the next most popular option favoured by 25% of respondents.

The research was carried out among more than 2,000 people by YouGov on behalf of Kensington in March this year.

Charles Morley, head of sales and product development at Kensington, said: “The landscape of our market has changed considerably over the last three years so it is not surprising that consumers