A partnership between Scottish Building Society and Mortgage Brain has led to the launch of a new affordability calculator by the mutual.

The calculator is available on the Scottish Building Society website for intermediaries to use. If the intermediary opts to not input details into the expenditure fields in the calculator, then the lender will automatically assess the case based on data from the Office for National Statistics. This can provide a time-saving for advisers if they do not yet have all of the expenditure information for their client, yet want to provide an idea of how much they may be able to borrow.

Results from the affordability calculator are provided in under two minutes on average.

In addition, Scottish Building Society is now present on Affordability Brain, Mortgage Brain’s affordability-based sourcing solution, and Criteria Brain, which allows intermediaries to source products for their clients based on the criteria of their case.

Stephen Brown, head of intermediaries at Scottish Building Society, said: “We are delighted with the results of our collaboration with Mortgage Brain on this project. Affordability is always a key consideration in any mortgage case, and we know that intermediaries want to provide their clients with a swift indication of what they may be able to borrow. Our new affordability calculator makes it easier for them to do just that.”

Neil Wyatt, sales and marketing director at Mortgage Brain, added: “As experts in mortgage technology, we are always keen to work with colleagues in the industry on developing the tools and processes that can make a tangible difference to the productivity and workloads of intermediaries, and ensure that the placing of cases is much smoother and straightforward.”