Broker satisfaction with mortgage lenders increases

Our newest research from our Mortgage Lender Benchmark H1 2021, out today, has revealed that broker satisfaction with mortgage lenders has increased by 2.5% from 77.8% to 80.3% in the last six months, although overall satisfaction has not yet recovered to the peak seen in H1 2020 of 82.70%.

Our research found that over half of mortgage lenders saw an increase in their overall rating. Compared to results in H2 2020, mortgage lenders who improved often achieved greater broker satisfaction around the speed and ease of the application process. Mortgage lenders who have seen a decline in their overall rating in H1 2021 often did poorer around customer service, speed and underwriting.

Our Mortgage Lender Benchmark also asked brokers how likely they are to recommend a lender, to calculate the Net Promoter Score, a measure of loyalty. Scores in H1 2021 range from +70.8 to -50.0, with the average across all lenders increasing by 11.9 points to +24.7, from +12.8.

Commenting on the findings, Jacqueline Dewey, CEO of Smart Money People said: “The improvements in overall satisfaction in H1 2021 represent an increase to an industry average of 80.3%, having dropped by 4.9%, an all-time low, from our last report in H2 2020. This increase is encouraging and shows that the mortgage industry is now recovering from the effects of the pandemic. Lenders now seem to be comfortable with new working patterns and are better placed to cope with the incredibly high demand we’ve seen during the pandemic.

However, broker sentiment is not yet back to pre-pandemic levels, and the results show that there is still more work that lenders can do to improve the broker experience. The next six months will be interesting to watch and see what happens to broker satisfaction, as we see lenders return to offices and adapt to a more permanent state of hybrid working.”

Top bank: Halifax
Top building society: Skipton Building Society
Top Buy to Let lender: Godiva
Top specialist lender: Pepper Money
Top lifetime lender: Canada Life

The Mortgage Lender Benchmark covers feedback from 597 brokers on 44 lenders across banks, building societies, specialist lenders and lifetime providers, as well as their thoughts on the mortgage market in general.

Along with asking brokers to rate lenders on different aspects of their proposition, we analyse the comments that brokers provide when asked what they like or what could be improved for each lender. These are mapped across 20 themes to give a rich insight into how each lender is performing.

Visit our dedicated Mortgage Lender Benchmark page to download a summary copy of the report or find out how to purchase a copy.

About the Mortgage Lender Benchmark

• The Mortgage Lender Benchmark is a bi-annual report released by Smart Money People in June and December each year.
• The H1 2021 report is the sixth edition of the report, which started in H2 2018.
• The report captured feedback from 597 brokers.
• Mortgage brokers were asked to leave feedback on the last five lenders they’ve attempted to place a case with recently, as well as other providers they use within their mortgage business, and their comments on the mortgage market in general.
• The data capture period was April 2021.
• Data on 99 lenders was captured as part of the study.