2021 SUMMARY REPORT - Smart Money People
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H1 2021 SUMMARY REPORT
FOREWORD
Welcome to the sixth edition of Smart Money In this edition, we delve deeper into how
People’s Mortgage Lender Benchmark (H1 2021). technology providers and lenders could support
The outputs provide an in-depth view on what’s brokers in using their systems to ensure that
working well and, perhaps more importantly for they get the best from them. Additionally, we
lenders and technology partners, what isn’t in the explore what tools and technology, if they
intermediary mortgage market from the broker’s existed, would make a broker’s role easier. There
perspective. are some clear themes emerging and these
provide good food for thought for both lenders
Between 6th April and 30th April, 597 brokers
and tech providers alike. As with our last two
shared their feedback on 99 lenders, highlighting
editions we also asked brokers to share their
and explaining which lenders are performing best,
experience of CRM, affordability, criteria and
and which have areas for improvement. With a
product sourcing providers.
buoyant but challenging market, the research
provides invaluable insight into the lender Set against a buoyant but challenging
intermediary eco-system and highlighting the market environment, the results again make
strengths and weaknesses as well as focused for interesting reading. Whilst some lenders
areas for change. have regained the losses made initially during
Covid-19, others are still struggling to adapt. As
The Mortgage Lender Benchmark, along with
ever brokers have been candid in their feedback
access to the full broker verbatim, has already
and what changes they would like to see. There
delivered proven benefits to many lenders and
remain challenges in the market, and it will
wider stakeholders. Most notably our detailed
be interesting to see how things continue to
lender analysis and heatmaps offer in-depth and
evolve over the coming months. We’ll report on
unique insight on the 44 lenders, responsible for
this in our next edition due to be published in
97% of all mortgage lending.
December 2021.
JACQUELINE DEWEY
CEO AT SMART MONEY PEOPLE
H1 2021 - Mortgage Lender Benchmark 2
Page
4 Executive Summary
6 About the Mortgage Lender Benchmark
8 Missing out?
9 League tables
15 Who are the best lenders out there?
17 Sector insight
23 What’s behind a broker’s decision to recommend a lender?
25 What’s behind a broker’s decision not to recommend a lender?
27 What does good communication look like?
28 Broker technology providers
29 Who’s winning the technology race?
30 What tools would make a broker’s role easier?
32 How could tech providers and lenders better support brokers in
using their systems?
34 Technology provider analysis
42 Want to know what brokers are really saying?
43 Lender analysis and heatmaps
44 The 44 Lenders in our detailed analysis
45 Bank analysis
69 Building Society analysis
84 Specialist lender analysis
94 Lifetime lender analysis
105 Brand analysis
107 Bank brand analysis
110 Building Society brand analysis
112 Specialist lender brand analysis
114 Lifetime lender brand analysis
116 Lenders included in our study
120 About Smart Money People
H1 2021 - Mortgage Lender Benchmark 3
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
KEY INSIGHTS
The response to this edition’s Benchmark shows brokers’ overall
satisfaction with lenders has partially recovered since H2 2020. The
overall satisfaction rating has increased from 77.8% in H2 2020 to 80.3
80.3% in this edition and is edging nearer pre-pandemic levels. This
improvement was seen across all sectors, with the exception of
specialist lenders where scores dropped by 1.4%. Given that this was
The overall satisfaction
the most resilient sector in the last edition this was unexpected.
of brokers with
Net Promoter Scores (NPS), a key measure of loyalty, ranged from mortgage lenders
+70.8 to -50, with the average across all lenders increasing to +24.7, increased to 80.3% from
from +12.8. Being recommended by intermediaries matters, particularly 77.8% in H2 2020
in a competitive market and so the Benchmark looks to help lenders
understand what’s really behind their decisions.
Following a drop in service standards and concerns about Covid-19
NPS
being used as an excuse for poor service or slow processes, sentiment 11.9
is markedly more positive in this edition. The ratings for speed to offer
– the most commented upon theme in the Benchmark – and lender
The NPS for lenders
communications, saw the most significant increases, up 6.5% and 3.4% increased by 11.9 points
respectively.
When compared to H2 2020, over half of all lenders saw an increase
in their overall rating and in the main these lenders had better
satisfaction scores for speed and ease of the application process again
underpinning the importance of these from the brokers’ perspective.
6.5
Those lenders whose overall rating fell, often did more poorly around
customer service, speed of processing applications and underwriting.
Conversely, they scored well for their lending criteria, often above those
lenders whose overall scores rose. It seems plausible that lenders who At 6.5%, the rating for
have been offering broader criteria, including higher LTVs, were more speed to offer saw the
likely to experience demand levels that impacted their ability to meet biggest recovery
broker expectations around speed and customer service. So, whilst
meeting the brokers needs for good criteria, they are inadvertently
being downgraded for providing that exact flexibility.
The research again delved into the role of technology asking brokers
to share their experience of CRM, affordability, criteria and product
sourcing providers. As previously, a lack of confidence in the accuracy 1
of the latter three systems came through in their feedback. In addition,
brokers commented on the lack of breadth of coverage for lenders on
Building societies have
affordability and criteria tools, and that trying to find the exact match
extended their lead
for criteria was frustrating and time-wasting and they’d like to see a
as the highest rated
more ‘like Google search capability’.
overall sector
H1 2021 - Mortgage Lender Benchmark 4
We also asked how tech providers and lenders could better
First time buyer and
support brokers in using their systems as well as what tools
home mover cases
would make their jobs easier. A lack of integration is the
saw the biggest
3.3 improvement in over-riding theme that came out with brokers frustrated
broker satisfaction about the amount of rekeying of information they have to do.
up 3.3% and 5.0% Aligned to this the lack of uniformity between systems and the
5.0 respectively variation in data requirements between lenders emerged as
key frustrations for brokers. There was also a strong desire for
more training and guidance, with brokers stating that lenders
Over half of lenders
saw an increase in their forget that they don’t use their systems constantly and
overall rating, driven that they can’t be expected to remember the intricacies and
by improvements in nuances of submitting a case without access to some support.
speed and ease of the
application process It’s clear that market conditions remain challenging and the
impacts of Covid-19 are still impacting lenders and their ability
to meet brokers’ needs. With technology playing an even more
Brokers are looking for important role in the market, it’s going to be interesting to see
integration between who is able to harness the full potential of what is available
tech providers and
in the market and steal a lead. We will continue to track
lenders to make their
lives easier and analyse the role of technology and how it’s influencing
and shaping the mortgage market in future editions of the
Mortgage Lender Benchmark.
OTHER KEY FINDINGS INCLUDE:
• Satisfaction with Relationship Managers was • Overall satisfaction for first time buyer and home
the only aggregated measure that fell in H1 2021 mover cases saw the biggest improvement in
broker satisfaction, up 3.3% and 5.0% respectively,
• Brokers still see BDMs as their key point of
with speed and communications underpinning the
contact and indeed more than a third of brokers
changes.
would turn to them if they were having issues
with a tech provider, rather than go to the • Cases involving those with impaired credit, attracted
provider themselves. The lack of accessibility, lower satisfaction, with the ratings for ease of finding
and some lenders restricting contact to email out lending amount and communication down 5.8%
only are growing pain points which could and 4.1% respectively.
continue to pull down satisfaction.
• Buy to Let satisfaction was up marginally on H2 2020,
• Building societies remain the highest overall but both product transfer and commercial Buy to Let
rated sector and have again overtaken banks were down across most metrics.
across all areas of performance.
• Dissatisfaction with speed, online systems
communication and customer service have the
biggest downward effect on NPS for lenders.
H1 2021 - Mortgage Lender Benchmark 5
ABOUT THE MORTGAGE LENDER BENCHMARK
Smart Money People’s Mortgage Lender
597
Benchmark (H1 2021) is an independent research
study conducted every six months and is formed
of three core elements: market insight, lender
brokers shared
specific insight and technology enablement.
feedback on the
The market insight provides a series of league
last 5 lenders
they’ve dealt with
tables across the main lender types – banks,
building societies, specialist, lifetime and buy to let
lenders – ranking lenders performance by overall
broker satisfaction.
The lender specific insight Benchmarks broker
views on the last five lenders they’ve tried to place
20
themes that
cases with, covering key case characteristics as
matter most to
well as an assessment of key elements of the
intermediaries
sales process such as speed to process, eligibility
and communication.
Brokers are also asked to articulate what they like
about each lender and what each lender could
2,985
do better, with a particular focus on the lender
systems. This is summarised in a series of detailed
individual lender analyses as well as comparative
heat maps and brand personality analysis by
pieces of in-depth
qualitative and
lender type.
quantitative
The third part of the Benchmark looks in more feedback
detail at the technology and systems used by
the participant brokers, their views on what they
like and what improvements would enable their
business model.
97%
The three parts combine to present a
comprehensive view of the mortgage market
from a broker’s perspective and can help lenders,
technology providers, regulators, investors and Represents 97% of
other interested parties better understand the mortgage lending in
service and proposition offered by UK lenders. the UK
H1 2021 - Mortgage Lender Benchmark 6
ABOUT THE MORTGAGE LENDER BENCHMARK
FIRM SIZE NO. OF FIRMS SAMPLE POPULATION
• 597 brokers shared feedback on the
>40 intermediaries 35 last 5 lenders they’ve dealt with
20-40 intermediaries 38 • 2,985 pieces of in-depth qualitative
and quantitative analysis
5-19 intermediaries 71
• 20 themes that matter most to
intermediaries
UNLOCK THE INSIGHT
The lock icon in the report
signifies paid content.
Our full report is available
to all interested parties for
£1,400 and includes:
• Full league table data for all
SAMPLE LENDER “For new business , at the moment very slow, can’t speak to my BDM
A
and underwriting is inconsistent.”
97 R e s p o n s e s
lenders
All All
LENDER A Banks Lenders
OVERALL RATING 78.2 77.9 77.8
Net Promotor Score (NPS) +8.7 13.4 12.8
Ease of determining max. loan amount % 84.3 82.2 81.5
Ease of determining product eligibility % 80.4 79.7 79.4
• Detailed lender analyses
Speed to process applications through to offer % 69.8 67.9 67.2
Satisfaction with relationship managers % 77.5 78.0 77.9
74.6 72.7 72.8
and heatmaps covering 44
Lender communication %
LENDER A’S PEOPLE
PRODUCT
PROCESS
& LENDING
DNA
H2 2020 57% 79% 55%
lenders H1 2020
% share of feedback
73% 89% 62%
Lowest Rated Highest Rated
COMMENTARY
• Broker tech heatmaps
Lender A has slipped from 5th to 11th in the league Confusing communications, and slower turnaround
table but have risen to 7th in the buy-to-let league times have contributed to a decline in sentiment
table. for underwriting. Brokers raised difficulties in
getting updates and requests for a lot of additional
Customer service attracted more negative
information after submission.
sentiment, with brokers commenting that ‘they are
so hard to get hold of’. Their live chat is Speed to offer saw the largest drop in overall score
mentioned by a lot of brokers who find it ‘helpful’ falling 16%. Brokers frequently commented on the
and note the ‘knowledgeable staff’. There are ‘noticeable drop in service since Covid-19’.
• Full brand analysis for all
however challenges accessing it, and the lack of a Previously seen as a key strength, the fall was
queueing system is an issue for brokers. BDM’s more noticeable to brokers.
continue to attract mostly positive sentiment but
Sentiment for online systems was more positive
there are frustrations about being able to contact
than most large lenders.
them and a lack of responsiveness.
lenders
Overall, Lender A is still seen as a generous lender,
Sentiment for product themes has dropped but
but the extended processing times have impacted
Lender A’s good affordability criteria and income
broker sentiment more proportionately, given their
multiples are seen as key strengths. Brokers also
previous strength in this area.
value their ‘broad criteria’ and ‘flexibility around
income types’.
H 2 2 0 2 0 - Mortgage Lender Benchmark
89
• In-depth analysis of the key
themes that matter most to
brokers
You can also buy the complete verbatim
feedback for all lenders to allow for more
detailed internal analysis.
TO BUY THE FULL REPORT
CONTACT US:
0203 488 5075
hello@smartmoneypeople.com
BANKING FIRMS Many of the banks within our league table have changed position
over H1 2021, however to take the top position for a
LEAGUE TABLE fifth consecutive edition. The average NPS for banks has improved by
8.7 points, and as a sector banks have seen a 6.3% increase in broker
satisfaction with their speed.
LENDERS IN THIS TABLE:
(In random order)
Virgin Money Scottish Widows
Clydesdale Bank Halifax
Barclays BM Solutions
Aldermore Platform
Metro Bank Atom Bank
Santander Kent Reliance
Paragon Bank NatWest
Precise Mortgages TSB
Bank of Ireland HSBC
Overall Rating Increased +/- 1% change H2 2020 Lowest Rated Highest Rated
Overall Rating Decreased New entrant
H1 2021 - Mortgage Lender Benchmark 9
BUILDING SOCIETIES Building Societies continue to be the highest rated sector within the
report, and their average scores are all above the industry average for
LEAGUE TABLE H1 2021. The average overall rating has improved by 6% for the sector.
The average NPS for building societies have improved by 23.4 points,
with only one lender having a negative NPS in the league table. Broker
satisfaction with speed for building societies has improved the most of
any sector, with an increase of 9.9% from H2 2020.
LENDERS IN THIS TABLE:
(In random order)
Nationwide The West Brom
Principality Coventry for intermediaries
Accord Mortgages The Mortgage Works
Skipton Building Society Leeds Building Society
Godiva The Nottingham
Newcastle Building Society
Overall Rating Increased +/- 1% change H2 2020 Lowest Rated Highest Rated
Overall Rating Decreased New entrant
H1 2021 - Mortgage Lender Benchmark 10SPECIALIST Specialist lenders have seen mixed performance over H1 2021, and compared
to other sectors they haven’t had the same across the board improvement in
LEAGUE TABLE average scores. All lenders have changed position within our league table with
the exception of . has seen a significant improvement to take
top position from 6th in H2 2020. As a sector broker satisfaction with how quickly
they process applications is the lowest of all those in our report. All but two
lenders have a negative NPS, which causes their sector average NPS to be -3.5.
LENDERS IN THIS TABLE:
(In random order)
Bluestone Fleet Mortgages
Vida Homeloans Pepper Money
Foundation Home Loans The Mortgage Lender
Kensington Mortgages
Overall Rating Increased +/- 1% change H2 2020 Lowest Rated Highest Rated
Overall Rating Decreased New entrant
H1 2021 - Mortgage Lender Benchmark 11LIFETIME LENDERS All lifetime lenders have moved position in our league table for H1 2021,
and has now taken first place and have the highest NPS of
LEAGUE TABLE any lender in our report. The average NPS for the sector has increased
by 16.9 points. Average broker satisfaction with the speed lifetime
lenders process applications has increased by 3%.
LENDERS IN THIS TABLE:
(In random order)
LV= Canada Life
Aviva L&G
Just More2Life
Hodge Lifetime Pure Retirement
Overall Rating Increased +/- 1% change H2 2020 Lowest Rated Highest Rated
Overall Rating Decreased New entrant
H1 2021 - Mortgage Lender Benchmark 12BUY TO LET There are four new entrants into our Buy to Let league table for H1 2021, however
to take the top place. The rest of the lenders have seen mixed
LEAGUE TABLE results, with only Barclay’s overall rating staying consistent with H2 2020.
LENDERS IN THIS TABLE:
(In random order)
Leeds Building Society Precise Mortgages
Santander Kent Reliance
Paragon Bank TSB
Foundation Home Loans Barclays
Accord Aldermore
The Mortgage Works BM Solutions
Fleet Mortgages Godiva
NatWest
Overall Rating Increased +/- 1% change H2 2020 Lowest Rated Highest Rated
Overall Rating Decreased New entrant
H1 2021 - Mortgage Lender Benchmark 13FIRMS LENDING We have introduced this additional league table for H1 2021, to include
any lender or banking group who had gross lending over £4bn using the
MORE THAN £4BN latest UKFinance data. Size of lending is not necessarily an indicator
of performance, although scores for are very
LEAGUE TABLE strong even when dealing with large volumes of lending. As a group,
the average scores for broker satisfaction with speed to process
applications is higher than any one individual sector alone, which
could be indicative of the more straightforward applications that these
lenders typically receive.
LENDERS IN THIS TABLE:
(In random order)
Barclays Skipton Building Society
CoventrySmartr365 Accord
Santander TSB
Nationwide Lloyds Banking Group
NatWest HSBC
Clydesdale Bank
Overall Rating Increased +/- 1% change H2 2020 Lowest Rated Highest Rated
Overall Rating Decreased New entrant
H1 2021 - Mortgage Lender Benchmark 14WHO ARE THE We believe it’s important to recognise the lenders who are doing a
great job, and our badges are an easy way for brokers to identify which
BEST LENDERS lenders are doing just that.
OUT THERE? The lenders in our table have received the highest rated feedback
across the themes that matter most to brokers, as well as recognising
who is performing well within their sector.
To find out more about purchasing a badge and
showing the rest of the mortgage industry how great
you are, contact the Smart Money People Team:
H1 2021
0203 488 5075
hello@smartmoneypeople.com
BEST BANK Halifax
BEST BUILDING SOCIETY LENDER Skipton Building
Society
BEST BUY TO LET LENDER Godiva
BEST LIFETIME MORTGAGE PROVIDER Canada Life
BEST SPECIALIST LENDER Pepper Money
GREAT FOR LENDING CRITERIA
GREAT FOR UNDERWRITING
GREAT FOR ONLINE SYSTEMS
GREAT FOR SPEED TO OFFER
GREAT FOR COMMUNICATION
GREAT FOR RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT
H1 2021 - Mortgage Lender Benchmark 15SECTOR INSIGHT - TOP LEVEL STATS
Overall satisfaction for brokers with mortgage lenders The specialist sector, who remained fairly unaffected by
has increased over H1 2021, although figures have the widespread drop in broker satisfaction we saw in H2
not yet recovered to pre-pandemic levels. In general 2020, are now seeing a drop in their ratings. In particular
there has been an improvement across many areas of their NPS has gone down to -3.5. They also receive the
satisfaction for mortgage lenders, which suggests that lowest broker satisfaction rating for speed, compared to
lenders have acclimatised and adapted to new ways of other sectors who have seen a good improvement in this
working over the last 12 months. area over H1 2021.
Building societies have seen strong improvements in
their satisfaction ratings, and a particularly high increase
in broker satisfaction with their speed to process
applications, which has increased by 9.9% during H1 2021.
Ease of Ease of Speed to process
Net
Overall determining Max determining applications Relationship
Promoter
Sector Rating
Score
loan amount product eligibility through to offer Managers Communication
(%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%)
All lenders
Banks
Building
Societies
Specialist
Lenders
Lifetime
Lenders
Please note, the overall rating (%) is a
standalone rating and does not combine
the various ratings left by brokers. H2 2020 figure No change Increase of Decrease of
for reference more than 3% 3% or more 3% or more
H1 2021 - Mortgage Lender Benchmark 16SECTOR INSIGHT: HOW DO LENDER TYPES DIFFER?
Broker sentiment around people and product brokers were 20% more likely to talk positively about
themes is relatively in-line with H2 2020, speed and ease than H2 2020. Building Societies also
however, sentiment across product did decrease attracted a 10% increase in sentiment towards online
for banks and building societies, with greater systems.
dissatisfaction around criteria accounting for
It was a slightly different story for specialist and
much of this decline. Brokers occasionally
lifetime lenders however, with satisfaction towards
described criteria as restrictive.
speed and customer service falling vs. H2 2020,
The most noticeable difference however was although increased sentiment towards BDMs, ease
across process which saw a 7% increase in and online systems helped offset this. Lifetime
overall satisfaction, with speed, ease and online lenders also benefited from greater broker’
systems being key drivers behind this. This was satisfaction with criteria and underwriting.
particularly true for building societies, where
ALL LENDERS
PRODUCT
PEOPLE PROCESS
& LENDING
H1 2021 61% 77% 57%
H2 2020 61% 79% 50%
% share of feedback
BANKS
H1 2021 55% 76% 55%
H2 2020 54% 79% 50%
BUILDING SOCIETIES
H1 2021 71% 78% 64%
H2 2020 70% 83% 51%
SPECIALIST LENDERS
H1 2021 77% 80% 47%
H2 2020 82% 77% 47%
LIFETIME LENDERS
H1 2021 73% 70% 56%
H2 2020 70% 69% 52%
% OF POSITIVE FEEDBACK FOR EACH THEME
90
H1 2021 - Mortgage Lender Benchmark 17BROKER TECHNOLOGY PROVIDERS
WHO’S WINNING THE TECHNOLOGY RACE?
Brokers talk a lot about how easy a lender makes Firm specific observations:
it to do business. And while several themes are
often at play, technology does of course have an • The Mortgage Works continues to delight
important role. brokers with its system, gaining praise for
being clear, concise and easy to use. Brokers
In the grid below, we share the intermediary view also liked the live chat facility
on which lenders are leading the technology • Accord saw the biggest improvement in broker’
race, with a specific focus on online systems and sentiment towards online systems and tools,
tools. achieving 89% positive feedback. Brokers
frequently describe it as simple to use
Online systems and tools generated the same • Coventry Building Society, HSBC and BM
share of feedback vs H2 2020 and sentiment Solutions saw a decline in broker sentiment.
slightly improved. Brokers talked negatively about Coventry's
secure email system, HSBC's lengthy DIP
Brokers often commented on the clarity, process and BM Solution's new portal
succinctness and general ease of use of a • 91% of feedback for Barclay’s systems was
lender’s application system. negative (in-line with previous editions)
Which online systems and tools delight? And which require upgrading?
Top
Quartile
Upper
Middle
Lower
Middle
Bottom
Quartile
Online systems and tools are responsible for 14% of all feedback shared by brokers when
discussing what they like about a lender and/or what could be better. Above we’ve
included the 24 lenders with the most feedback about online systems and tools.
H1 2021 - Mortgage Lender Benchmark
19TECHNOLOGY PROVIDERS
CRM LEAGUE TABLE
LENDERS IN THIS TABLE:
(In random order)
360 Dotnet Intelligent Office
The Key Iress
Smartr365 eKeeper
AFFORDABILITY LEAGUE TABLE
LENDERS IN THIS TABLE:
(In random order)
BrokerSense Mortgage Broker Tools
Affordability Hub
Overall Rating Increased +/- 1% change H2 2020 Lowest Rated Highest Rated
Overall Rating Decreased New entrant
H1 2021 - Mortgage Lender Benchmark 20TECHNOLOGY PROVIDERS
CRITERIA LEAGUE TABLE
LENDERS IN THIS TABLE:
(In random order)
SmartrCriteria Criteria Hub
Knowledge Bank Twenty7Tec
PRODUCT SOURCING LEAGUE TABLE
LENDERS IN THIS TABLE:
(In random order)
Mortgage Brain Air Sourcing
Iress Twenty7Tec
Overall Rating Increased +/- 1% change H2 2020 Lowest Rated Highest Rated
Overall Rating Decreased New entrant
H1 2021 - Mortgage Lender Benchmark 21Mortgage Lender
WANT TO KNOW EXACTLY
Benchmark
WHAT BROKERS ARE
SAYING?
“Service timescales need
to improve and would be
nice if advertised SLA
were the correct ones.”
We know there’s nothing quite like hearing
what people are saying direct from the
horse’s mouth.
“Got into a mess during
When you’re having discussions within Covid and still not fully
recovered.”
your business about where to make
investments, or what changes you need
more resource for, this can be particularly
“Their service levels are
important. The more evidence you have to good, they are always
support your business case, the better. competitive on product
and their criteria allows
things that other lenders
So that’s why, alongside our full report, will not. Making life as a
we also offer the option to buy all the broker easier.”
verbatim comments brokers have left
about you, and all the other lenders we
feature in our report. “BDM support is brilliant but
their system is the worst
out of any lender by far.”
If you’d like to know more, contact
the Smart Money People Team to
discuss what options are available.
We’d love to hear from you.
0203 488 5075
hello@smartmoneypeople.comLENDER ANALYSIS & HEATMAPS
THE 44 LENDERS IN OUR DETAILED ANALYSIS
Our detailed individual lender analysis summarise The data is also pulled together into
the broker feedback and cover key elements of comparative heat maps.
the sales process such as speed to process,
eligibility and communication for all of the lenders Listed below are the 44 lenders included in the
shown below. They also look at what brokers like detailed analysis.
about each lender and what each lender could do
better, with a particular focus on lender systems.
Accord Aldermore Atom Bank
Building Society Bank Bank
Aviva Bank of Ireland Barclays
Lifetime Bank Bank
Bluestone BM Solutions Canada Life
Specialist Bank Lifetime
Clydesdale Bank Coventry Fleet Mortgages
Bank Building Society Specialist
Foundation Home Loans Godiva Halifax
Specialist Building Society Bank
Hodge Lifetime HSBC Just
Lifetime Bank Lifetime
Kensington Mortgages Kent Reliance L&G
Specialist Bank Lifetime
Leeds Metro Bank
LV= Bank
Building Society Lifetime
More2Life Nationwide NatWest
Lifetime Building Society Bank
Newcastle Nottingham Paragon Bank
Building Society Building Society Bank
Pepper Money Platform Precise Mortgages
Specialist Bank Bank
Principality Pure Retirement Santander
Building Society Lifetime Bank
Scottish Widows Skipton Building The Mortgage Lender
Bank Society Specialist
The Mortgage Works TSB Vida Homeloans
Building Society Bank Specialist
Virgin Money West Brom
Bank Building Society
H1 2021 - Mortgage Lender Benchmark 24SAMPLE LENDER “For new business ,atthemomentvery slow, can’t speak to my BDM
and underwriting is inconsistent.”
A
97 R e s p o n s e s LENDER A
All All
Banks Lenders
OVERALL RATING 78.2 77.9 77.8
Net Promotor Score (NPS) +8.7 13.4 12.8
Ease of determining max. loan amount % 84.3 82.2 81.5
Ease of determining product eligibility % 80.4 79.7 79.4
Speed to process applications through to offer % 69.8 67.9 67.2
Satisfaction with relationship managers % 77.5 78.0 77.9
Lender communication % 74.6 72.7 72.8
PRODUCT
LENDER A’S PEOPLE PROCESS
& LENDING
DNA
H1 2021 57% 79% 55%
H2 2020 73% 89% 62%
% share of feedback
Lowest Rated Highest Rated
COMMENTARY
Lender A has slipped from 5th to 11th in the league Confusing communications, and slower turnaround
table but have risen to 7th in the buy-to-let league times have contributed to a decline in sentiment
table. for underwriting. Brokers raised difficulties in
getting updates and requests for a lot of additional
Customer service attracted more negative
information after submission.
sentiment, with brokers commenting that ‘they are
so hard to get hold of’. Their live chat is Speed to offer saw the largest drop in overall score
mentioned by a lot of brokers who find it ‘helpful’ falling 16%. Brokers frequently commented on the
and note the ‘knowledgeable staff’. There are ‘noticeable drop in service since Covid-19’.
however challenges accessing it, and the lack of a Previously seen as a key strength, the fall was
queueing system is an issue for brokers. BDM’s more noticeable to brokers.
continue to attract mostly positive sentiment but
Sentiment for online systems was more positive
there are frustrations about being able to contact
than most large lenders.
them and a lack of responsiveness.
Overall, Lender A is still seen as a generous lender,
Sentiment for product themes has dropped but
but the extended processing times have impacted
Lender A’s good affordability criteria and income
broker sentiment more proportionately, given their
multiples are seen as key strengths. Brokers also
previous strength in this area.
value their ‘broad criteria’ and ‘flexibility around
income types’.
H 1 2 0 2 1 - Mortgage Lender Benchmark
25SAMPLE LENDER HEATMAP
The Mortgage Lender Benchmark asks brokers This question allows brokers to tell us what
to ‘tell us what you like about a lender, and/or matters to them, in their own words, which helps
what could be better.’ us to understand the strengths and weaknesses
of each lender.
PEOPLE PROCESS
% SHARE OF FEEDBACK FOR EACH THEME % SHARE OF FEEDBACK FOR EACH THEME
0 15 30 0 15 30
A A
BDMs B UNDERWRITING B
C C
D D
A A
CUSTOMER EASE OF
B APPLICATION B
SERVICE
C C
D D
A A
SKILLS & B SPEED TO B
KNOWLEDGE COMPLETION
C C
D D
A A
B VALUATIONS B
ACCOUNTABILITY
C C
D D
A
PRODUCT
COMMUNICATION B
% SHARE OF FEEDBACK FOR EACH THEME
C
0 15 30
D
A
A
PRODUCT RANGE B
ONLINE SYSTEMS B
C
C
D
D
A A
RATES B B
ONLINE TOOLS
C C
D D
A
A
B
CRITERIA ACCURACY & B
C CONSISTENCY
D C
D
A
CLARITY OF B
CRITERIA A Lender A
C
D B Lender B
A C Lender C
FEES B
D Lender D
C
D
Industry average
A % OF POSITIVE FEEDBACK FOR EACH THEME
FLEXIBILITY B
C
D 90
H1 2021 - Mortgage Lender Benchmark
26SAMPLE BRAND ANALYSIS
PAGE 1 OF 9
Sample Lender A Sample Lender B Sample Lender C
H1 2021 H2 2020 H1 2021 H2 2020 H1 2021 H2 2020
1 Easy Easy Helpful Quick Reliable Easy
2 Quick Quick Fun Easy Friendly Helpful
3 Reliable Fun Quick Open Easy Efficient
4 Friendly Friendly Easy-going Helpful Honest Honest
5 Efficient Efficient Friendly Friendly Flexible Reliable
6 Quick Helpful Dependable Quirky Efficient Easy
7 Flexible Boring Quirky Exciting Quirky Quick
8 Fun Confident Approachable Alternative Happy Fun
9 Efficient Reliable Slow Unusual Outgoing Thorough
10 Approachable Happy Understanding Kind Helpful Bubbly
H1 2021 - Mortgage Lender Benchmark
27LENDERS INCLUDED IN OUR STUDY
LENDER SECTOR FEEDBACK VOLUME
H1 2021 - Mortgage Lender Benchmark 28LENDER SECTOR FEEDBACK VOLUME
MBS Lending
(Melton Mowbray Building Society)
H1 2021 - Mortgage Lender Benchmark 30LENDER SECTOR FEEDBACK VOLUME
H1 2021 - Mortgage Lender Benchmark 30LENDER SECTOR FEEDBACK VOLUME
H1 2021 - Mortgage Lender Benchmark 31ABOUT US
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