TSB mortgages are now available via the mortgage intermediary channel, as it seeks to raise its profile as a “destination for mortgages”.

It has hired over 200 people in the past six months to provide a unique service and ‘shake up’ the broker market. TSB recently completed a successful pilot with fee-free broker London and Country.

The bank has invested in 24 local relationship managers, which it claims is a much higher ratio for market share than the majority of competitors allowing for a more personal service.

The majority of Intermediary Partners on the TSB enquiry line are CeMAP qualified and have worked as mortgage advisers, while TSB underwriters have an average of 10 years experience.

Where a customer’s mortgage application is referred to an underwriter, brokers will have direct access to that underwriter to help them understand any additional requirements.

In addition, the bank says all calls to relationship managers will be returned within three hours and any email enquiries received before 5pm will receive a response the same day.

TSB has also stated there will be no dual pricing.

“TSB was born to bring competition to the market and we will be a substantial intermediary player,” said Roland McCormack, TSB’s mortgage intermediary director.

“We’re dedicated to providing a great service to brokers and competitive mortgages for their customers. However, service is our number one priority and we aren’t prepared to sacrifice for volume which is why we’re looking to grow organically.

“You can copy systems but you can’t replicate people. This is why we have built an intermediary business with the focus on recruiting experts who care about providing a stand out service to brokers. In doing so, we will provide mortgage brokers with the tools they need to help people buy their homes – making the process, from start to finish, as simple and transparent as possible.”