In this new series, Warren O’Connell, Head of Business Development for Sourcing at Iress, sits down with some of the UK mortgage market’s movers and shakers to explore their perspectives, predictions, and personal passions driving the industry forward.
This time, Warren chats with Nicola Firth, CEO of the multi-award-winning Mortgage Criteria Search System, Knowledge Bank.
So, Nicola, are you ready for some Home Truths?
Tell us, what’s exciting you most about the UK mortgage market right now?
I know I’m biased, but technology and specifically AI. I think the next few years will be transformational for our industry. Technology is finally catching up with the complexity of modern mortgage lending, and that’s where the biggest progress is happening.
Where do you see the biggest opportunities for brokers and intermediaries in the next 12 months?
The biggest opportunity is specialisation and complex lending. Borrowers’ circumstances are more diverse than ever, with multiple income streams, gig economy workers, portfolio landlords and later-life borrowers. The brokers who lean into this complexity and position themselves as experts will thrive. Technology is also making it easier to identify lender appetite quickly, which allows brokers to spend less time researching and more time advising. Additionally, there’s a huge opportunity for brokers to drive efficiencies by utilising AI for more of their admin-related tasks around running their businesses, saving them both time and money and giving them the opportunity to enhance their services.
What’s one industry challenge that you think doesn’t get talked about enough?
I think this would have to be the pressure that brokers are under and constantly. With technology as it is today and the desire for instant answers, the boundaries between work and personal time become very blurred. Add to this the complexities of mortgage lending, navigating criteria, and the rate pulls at short notice, especially in turbulent markets, and you can see just how challenging this is on them and their mental health at times. Having been a broker many years ago, I remember those challenges well and it’s frustrating to see brokers still going through those same experiences as I was 20 years ago.
If you could wave a magic wand and change one thing about the mortgage process, what would it be?
It would be greater connectivity between systems and stakeholders. Brokers often work across multiple platforms, lenders all have their own different processes, conveyancers are trying to gain information from many unconnected sources, and information doesn’t always flow smoothly between them. If I had a magic wand, I would remove all of the commercial and technological barriers to joining these systems and processes together to dramatically improve the speed and efficiency of the mortgage journey from initial enquiry right through to completion. I have a feeling it’s going to need to be a pretty big wand for this, though!
What drives you personally in this industry? What keeps you motivated?
The thing that really drives me is when I think about the real impact the work we do has on people’s lives. Buying a home is one of the biggest financial decisions that anyone will make and the intermediary market plays such an important role in helping people navigate that journey. Being a part of a process that helps people achieve home ownership, or improve their financial position, is incredibly rewarding. As I walk down a street, I sometimes wonder how many of those people got a mortgage they didn’t think was possible because of what we created in Knowledge Bank to help brokers make it possible for them. We’re lucky enough to work in an industry full of passionate people who genuinely want to improve the way things work and keep it evolving and it’s impossible not to feel motivated by that too.
How do you see collaboration shaping the future of the mortgage space?
There’s a saying that I love, which is “those at the bottom compete, those at the top collaborate”. And I think this is so true, especially in our industry. Whether it’s brokers, lenders, technology providers or conveyancers, when those groups work together, the outcomes are much better. Ultimately, the future of the industry will be shaped by shared innovation rather than isolated development.
Technology has made an enormous difference to the intermediary journey - where do you see the biggest gains still to be made?
Technology has already improved things significantly, but the biggest gains will come from making information easier to access and interpret. Brokers deal with huge amounts of data, product options, affordability models, lenders’ criteria and policy, and the challenge is often finding the right information quickly and having the confidence in that information so that nothing changes that throws the case out further down the line, sending them and their clients back to square one. Technology that fuels clarity without adding extra complexity is where the biggest gains are still to be made.
How does Iress fit into your strategy, and how do our tools and partnership help you deliver better for your customers?
I said earlier that those who are at the top are collaborating, and I don’t think there’s a better example of that than what we’ve brought to the market with Xplan Mortgage and Knowledge Bank. Product and criteria go hand-in-hand, and bringing together the “best of breed” for both as an industry first was pivotal. The partnership really has created that ‘holy grail’ of mortgage sourcing and working with the team at Iress to deliver that was an incredible experience as their passion for delivering useful and usable technology that genuinely makes a difference to the working day of a broker was evident at every stage.
What does success look like for you - and for the industry - over the next five years?
Success for the industry would be a mortgage process that feels simpler, faster and more transparent for borrowers whilst still maintaining a strong advice culture that we have here in the UK. There are moves from the regulator to row us back from a fully advised process, which, to anyone like me who remembers the global financial crisis which started in 2008, will undoubtedly be of concern! Success for me looks like Knowledge Bank remaining the UK’s largest and most trusted criteria database and being relied upon to fuel the joining of the dots to facilitate a smoother process for everyone involved.
Finally, if you could give one piece of advice to intermediaries navigating today’s market, what would it be?
Focus on the value of advice. Markets will always change; interest rates move, criteria evolve, and regulations shift, but the constant is that borrowers need guidance. Brokers who invest in their expertise, build strong client relationships and make use of technology available to them will always be in a strong position.
Thank you, Nicola, for sharing your Home Truths.
At Iress, we have conversations like this every day and through industry meet-ups like our Mortgage Forum. By talking openly in this way, we can develop the right tools and technology to keep brokers and lenders ahead of the opportunities that exist in the mortgage market.
Look out for more Home Truths from our other friends and partners soon.
Would you like to be interviewed by Warren? Email him at warren.o’connell@iress.com
