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 David Hollingworth, Associate Director, Communications at L&C Mortgages, the fee free mortgage broker that's been voted the UK’s best mortgage broker 14 years in a row.
So, David, are you ready for some Home Truths?
What’s exciting you most about the UK mortgage market right now?
It’s always been a vibrant market to be involved with and advice looks set to be just as important for borrowers going forward. That’s especially true when lenders are constantly looking to differentiate and borrower circumstances increasingly don’t tick all the boxes.
When you add in the pace of change in technology and how that could help to improve or remove some of the routine processes that remain commonplace today I think we’re looking at a really exciting juncture for mortgage advisers and the industry generally.
Where do you see the biggest opportunities for brokers and intermediaries in the next 12 months?
It’s hard not to point to AI and technology, which will clearly play a key role in creating new opportunities for brokers to streamline their processes and enhance customer experience.
However we shouldn’t forget that this has been a tumultuous market in recent years and the bedrock of what brokers do for customers is to provide advice. Borrowers will have been shaken by the rapid rise in interest rates and then again when market conditions turned sharply as a result of the Middle East conflict.
With further uncertainty on the horizon, customers will be looking for tailored advice more than ever. For brokers, the opportunity lies in helping borrowers understand their options and helping them feel confident in making the right decisions.
What’s one industry challenge that you think doesn’t get talked about enough?
The ups and downs in the market have been difficult to deal with and I think there’s been some positive discussions about the toll that can take on advisers in terms of work-life balance and mental health.
The ongoing changes in rates once again highlight the sheer volume of products in the market, which poses challenges in periods of extreme volatility for advisers and lenders alike. Brokers will generally always argue that the more choice the better and we certainly want to see a varied and innovative market.
However, lenders will have hundreds if not thousands of products and we frequently see only a small proportion resonating with our advisers. Unless the other deals are finding a bigger audience elsewhere it poses the question of whether lenders should consider some simplification of their range, rather than simply filling the boxes.
At the same time, we see products like offset being withdrawn at the point when they could really strike a chord with customers.
If you could wave a magic wand and change one thing about the mortgage process, what would it be?
It can be a disjointed process to buy a house and one that can fill people with dread. If the wand could help to accelerate some of the good work that’s already underway to bring the different elements in the homebuying process together it would make a huge difference.
We’re seeing good strides in making the mortgage process ever more seamless and it should get quicker and easier. That certainty of having the mortgage in place is good for advisers but when the process becomes more clunky and painful from there it’s frustrating for everyone, especially the customer. I’m sure we’ll get closer but a magic wand would help!
What drives you personally in this industry? What keeps you motivated?
No one really wants a mortgage but they do want to be a homeowner, so helping people to achieve that, avoid mistakes and ultimately get the very best value for their mortgage over its life should be motivation for everyone.
In addition, it’s a very fast-paced market that is full of great people. While the ultimate aim of helping customers navigate the best option for them remains the same, there’s no telling what the wider market may throw at you, whether it’s a credit crisis, pandemic or ill-fated mini Budgets!
I’ve been lucky to work with so many great people over the years and the common factor is that desire to do the right thing for customers, through the downs as well as the ups, in the economy. That’s an inspiring environment to work in.
How do you see collaboration shaping the future of the mortgage space?
Without collaboration I think things would go backwards very quickly, and if we’re to see genuine progress the market will need to work together more, not less. An intermediated market can’t work effectively without there being a good degree of collaboration.
It’s a naturally competitive market which can sometimes mean different parts of the industry focus on protecting their own interests or gaining competitive edge. However, that will ultimately take the market forward as positive progression will be taken up by others.
It’s so easy to look at what continues to frustrate us all rather than consider how much things have improved. I’m therefore very optimistic that there’s enough desire to improve that there will be collaboration to continue to drive things forward.
Technology has made an enormous difference to the intermediary journey - where do you see the biggest gains still to be made?
Technology has made enormous changes but it feels like there’s still so much more that can be achieved.
There’s bound to be improvements still to come, whether that’s related to the sourcing of products, criteria tools or improving the speed and efficiency for application submission and back-office processing. Perhaps the more transformational gain could be where the homebuying journey becomes more joined up and information passes more easily and freely.
In the meantime, I think advisers remain very focused on technology that will help them deliver advice more efficiently and quickly, without compromising on quality, all with the ultimate aim of enhancing the customer experience.
How does Iress fit into your strategy, and how do our tools and partnership help you deliver better for your customers?
We’ve had a relationship with Iress over many years, to help provide us with the tools we need to do business across the mortgage and protection space. In recent years we’ve been able to help a number of lenders test their integration of Lender Connect, as they prepare for launch to enable advisers to speed up the keying of mortgage applications.
Our protection advisers need instant access to quotes from across the market to help them research and compare products when preparing their recommendation for customers. We’re working hard on ensuring protection is embedded in our process and that customers have a full understanding of the benefits and value of protection. Technology will play an important role in that.
What does success look like for you - and for the industry - over the next five years?
You’re talking to someone that spends a lot of time speaking to media to try and explain the benefits of advice, so I hope that the evolving market will not only see advisers remain at the heart of how business is done but become even more valued by customers.
One of the strengths of the broker market is its diversity but to stand out as the recognised household brand for mortgage and protection advice is therefore hard to achieve. That being said, the passion and talent in L&C is as strong as ever, so although L&C is already well known I think we can aim for further growth, to resonate with more and more customers.
Finally, if you could give one piece of advice to intermediaries navigating today’s market, what would it be?
There’s going to be a lot of change in the coming years as AI will inevitably move things on at an even greater pace than technology has already. That will bring opportunity but there will also be a lot of noise around what brokers should and shouldn’t do to keep up.
It’s therefore as important as ever to put the customer at the heart of every decision. Thinking about what the customer wants and what will help them get the best possible deal will help to keep advisers on the right path.
Thank you, David, 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
