Yet to my mind underneath all the good news, as an industry we run the risk of being wedded to the idea that nothing needs to change. Yes, new technology can make us more efficient and snappy advertising can build up new players, but essentially the world has moved on and my concern is we in the specialist lending sector need to do more to recognise that change and look to engage with some new realities.
I believe the way that lenders and distributors like Brightstar interact with intermediaries needs to change. Why? Because there is, in my view, a clear and present danger that while distributors or packagers provide a great service for lenders and a rallying point for brokers by putting lender, adviser and customer together, we have not been addressing a changing mindset.
There have been growing concerns, particularly from brokers, that they do not really understand the specialist lending space and are not confident enough to advise customers when their needs fall outside the normal high street template. Our survey of introducers gave us undeniable proof that over 84% of those did not feel confident to give advice in this area!
So six months ago at Brightstar we began to reassess the service we were offering, even though we have been, like many of our peers, very successful in providing assistance to our introducers. £500mm in completions within three years of launch speaks for itself!
It became clear that even though we were providing the potential solutions and alternatives, we needed a ground up reevaluation of the way we interacted with introducers to make the process simpler, while looking to help increase the knowledge base of everyone who comes to us.
Last week we relaunched our proposition to ‘Make it Easy’ for introducers to deal with us.
Specialist lending has moved from being a sideshow only a few years ago to being a major channel of lending in 2015. The role that intermediaries play in providing their clients with the right advice is of even greater importance in the face of so much of the population being effectively sidelined from the high street as affordability calculations, credit scoring and overcautious interpretation of the regulatory guidelines continue to bite.
In 2015, the industry needs to be doing even more to support intermediaries faced with having so many familiar lending doors closed to them. The facilities which we are putting in place will we believe, demonstrate that making it easier for advisers is not just about offering up answers, but in helping them develop a deeper understanding of this growing sector and build confidence in the choices they make on behalf of their clients.
