Mark Lofthouse, CEO of Mortgage Brain, explains how brokers' lives have, and continue to be, changed for the better by the advancements in innovative IT.
1997 was a momentous year for many reasons. Tony Blair became Prime Minister, the last Ladas were imported into the UK and, despite the best efforts of Englebert and co, Katrina and the Waves were the most recent British winners of the Eurovision Song Contest.
It was also the base line year for mortgage technology. Back then, most transactions completed by a broker and submitted to a lender would at some point be handled by an underwriter. Today, the vast majority go straight through to lenders’ back office systems with no underwriter intervention.
Back then, compliance was a matter of keeping reams of paperwork for years, on the off chance the FSA (now the FCA) came calling. Today, all that information can be easily managed, stored and accessed at the touch of a button.
Back then, mortgage applications took days or in some cases weeks to be approved. Today, decisions can be received in less than a minute.
Mortgage technology has changed out of all recognition in the last fifteen years and will doubtless continue to do so.
It has done so in a bid to catch up, then to keep up and more recently, to forge ahead of other financial services. It has done so because of pressure from the Internet, improvements made by other areas of the financial services market, and the desire from brokers and customers alike for a faster, more efficient service. It has done so to give brokers the best chance of retaining and increasing their customer base.
The benefits have been plentiful for all involved. Mortgage applications are being dealt with more efficiently and advice and sales processes have been streamlined. The technology is faster, more powerful and more accurate. Compliance is easier to manage.
Most importantly, mortgage technology has enabled brokers to offer a better service to customers who have access to many more 'mortgage buying options' than they did fifteen years ago. Brokers need to adapt to consumers' changing purchasing habits or risk being left behind, and technology helps them to do that.
An excellent recent example of this is the launch of mobile apps for the mortgage market. Mortgage Brain has one called UKMortgages, which is designed with both brokers and consumers in mind, and lenders such as the Halifax, Abbey and The Mortgage Works all have their own apps.
And they are popular too. UKMortgages, for example, has been downloaded over 85,000 times and Abbey's AFI gained 1,000 downloads in the first week of its launch.
Whilst apps are the latest innovation, other advances are helping to keep brokers ahead of the game.
Business to consumer systems are helping brokers compete on a level playing field with aggregators by letting consumers conduct much more of the initial mortgage search process before getting in touch with intermediaries about the one that best suit their needs.
Elsewhere, point-of-sale and CRM systems have become one of the most important technological aids for brokers. They help to minimise the sales and administration processes, giving brokers more time to work on ways to increase sales.
These systems are also invaluable when it comes to dealing with an increasingly tough regulatory regime and naturally, both will continue to be improved in the years to come.
I mentioned earlier how most applications can now go straight through to a lenders’ back office without any underwriter involvement. This has largely come about due to vastly improved electronic trading platforms.
Recent developments mean that answers can now be given in seconds and, more importantly, the answers are accurate 100 per cent of the time.
Sourcing systems have also been significantly enhanced and now play a huge role in the lives of brokers. In terms of speed, ease of use and product listing capability they are unbeatable.
For the future, integration will be key. The years ahead will see more platforms becoming interlinked, resulting in an even better level of service.
It's clear that the mortgage industry must continue to evolve and adapt to new and emerging trends and consumer requirements. As a result, mortgage technology will continue to be a dominant force in our lives.
Mark Lofthouse is Chief Executive Officer of Mortgage Brain, a market leading mortgage technology solutions provider.
