"Where lenders now need to step up is enabling brokers, who are technology enable, the capability to provide an end-to-end mortgage service"
FR: BlueZest is due to launch later this year - what will your product range look like and what are your plans for the next 12 months?
Whilst we will operate from outset as if we were a regulated mortgage lender from a process and management perspective, it will take around 12 months to get the required approvals to be fully regulated. This means our initial product range will be in the unregulated arena and will focus on three primary product ranges including buy-to-let mortgages, property development loans and SME secured loans.
Our technology platform is already live and in a soft-launch test phase with key intermediary partners.
Bluezest will shortly also launch a retail bond on the London Stock Exchange that will provide us with access to £1 billion of necessary funding to support our initial mortgage book growth.
The next 12 months is about getting the business live, continually enhancing the technology, driving volume growth and getting fully regulated.
FR: Your range will be targeted towards the intermediary sector – why is this, and do you see the recent growth in the intermediary market continuing?
Our mortgage products are available through intermediaries and direct.
From outset we have worked in partnership with key intermediaries to help tailor our products, service and criteria to ensure a good market fit.
Taking out a mortgage is one of the biggest financial decisions most people will make so it is no wonder the advice based intermediary sector is growing.
FR: How is technology improving the way the financial services industry works and how can brokers utilise this?
Accessibility, transparency, efficiency, convenience and speed are all being enabled and enhanced by technology. Take for example modern CRM that can enable the broker to electronically complete a full fact find with the customer, create diary notes and manage all communications. Then couple this with the ability to electronically draw from this information (via API) the data required to pre-populate a sourcing engine to help in the selection of the most appropriate products for the customer and finally automatically submitting all the paper work at a push of a button (e.g. completed application data, etc).
Where lenders now need to step up is enabling brokers, who are technology enable, the capability to provide an end-to-end mortgage service – like push button data transfer, data enhanced instant decisions, fast Offers and of course full real-time transparency of progress at each step. BlueZest is already on this path.
FR: Your technology aims to deliver a mortgage decision within 30 minutes – do you see this continuing, and what other areas of the mortgage process would you like to see improved?
Absolutely. Technology will continue to evolve and in-time we aspire to provide decisions even faster. There are parts that we do not ‘own’ for example the conveyancing process and whist we have carefully selected partners here that are technologically enabled, this is an area that could improve further. For example, still requiring an ‘inked’ signature for the land registry deeds is just antiquated.
FR: Do you foresee the supply and demand issue getting worse? What more can be done to ensure that people continue to have access to the mortgage market?
No. On the property front there will always be a shortage of property however this is not something new. On the mortgage side there will always be lenders in the market – old and new. Three things will drive supply and demand – the general economy, credit risk appetite and regulation/government.
FR: How do you think the Referendum and the Base Rate cut will continue to affect the mortgage market in the coming months?
I actually don’t expect to see a significant change in demand. Some people will hold of purchasing due to the uncertainty but this simply means rental demand will increase. The value of the pound I think has masked the true impact of the Brexit vote and in due course this may be exposed.
It is now key that the government provides a very clear framework, plan and foundations on how things around this will work and ensure that these are delivered. In particular, passporting. This in turn will protect against migration of businesses and individuals to other more attractive parts of Europe to ensure they can continue to compete in the wider landscape.
FR: If you could see one headline about financial services in 2016, what would it be?
The technology evolution or maybe revolution, is about to hit the UK mortgage market with a big impact!
