Intermediaries Matter
Issue 1
Dear Intermediary,
Welcome to our very first edition of Intermediaries Matter, where each month we’ll provide you with latest news along with other topical items.
This month we hear from Lucy Stamford, Business Development Manager for the East Midlands, Yorkshire and the North East.
2011 Good News So Far...
Our success stories this year include:
- 90% of our new lending comes from intermediaries!
- A return to Buy-To-Let lending, something that has been very well received by you and your clients.
- The recruitment of more BDMs, meaning you have more support where and when you need it most.
- The introduction of six month offers, allowing you and your clients to make arrangements for the next mortgage deal in good time.
- Improvements to the DIP process, making the application stage more streamline and transparent.
September Product News
Thanks to your help, we’ve almost achieved our Buy-To-Let target for this year.
We are also pleased to announce that our Residential range is due to be refreshed early next month, watch this space.
As ever, we welcome your feedback and if there is a product that your clients are looking for, which we don’t currently provide, please let us know and we’ll see what we can do.
To view our current product range, visit www.skipton-intermediaries.co.uk/mortgages
Criteria Changes
Even more flexible lending..
Great news! We are improving our affordability meaning we are prepared to lend more to those clients who manage their finances well. Look out for more details early next month.
Skipton’s commitment to improving service, by applying more intelligence to lending criteria means we can become more flexible, being fair to your client and in turn making your life easier.
Industry Insight
We have seen a challenging year so far in 2011 with mortgage volumes broadly remaining in line with 2009 and 2010 levels but there have been some good news stories. Recent figures from the CML show that lending in August was 10% up on the equivalent position in 2010 and also 6% up on July 2011, so this is a step in the right direction. Furthermore, we are starting to see a pick up in the remortgage market, with figures from the FSA showing that remortgaging in H1 2011 is 21% higher than in H1 2010 and 13% higher than in H2 2010. This is positive news and we hope to see this slow recovery continue for the rest of this year and into 2012.
Skipton Intermediaries have featured strongly in the sourcing tables this year with very aggressive pricing. We continually monitor the market and our competitors to ensure that our products across the range are attractive and best meet the needs of you and your clients.
On the road with our BDMs
This month, we hear from Lucy Stamford, Business Development Manager for the East Midlands, Yorkshire & the North East:
Well, what a hectic month it’s been! The last couple of months have been very busy for me personally and the Skipton in general, despite it being holiday time. Potential borrowers were actually thinking about house buying and mortgages, has our world gone mad?!
I’m sure you’ve noticed that we have been really concentrating on improving our broker proposition and consequently the BDM team has been spending even more time communicating with you, whether it be via face to face calls, telephone or e-mail to keep you up to date.
We have also put lots of time and effort into broker-focussed road shows and round table events where I have to say the positive response has been absolutely phenomenal! It seems very obvious to me that Skipton’s enthusiastic and helpful approach is still winning hearts and minds in the broker arena.
After speaking with many brokers myself at these events over the past few weeks, I am always thrilled to hear how our flexible, commonsense approach to underwriting and direct access to underwriters sets us apart from our competitors. These events continue into October so the team and I hope to see some of you there!
Service Update
Turnaround times to offer |
% Telephone calls answered |
Average call waiting time |
18 working days |
95% |
95 seconds |
For full details of our latest Service Levels, visit www.skipton-intermediaries.co.uk/serviceUpdate.aspx
Your Feedback
We hope that you have enjoyed this edition of Intermediaries Matter, should you have any comments or suggestions for next month, please get in touch by emailing Jennifer.Gander@skipton.co.uk or calling 01756 705299.
Skipton Building Society is a member of the Building Societies Association. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) under registration number 153706 for
accepting deposits, advising on and arranging mortgages and insurance. *To help maintain quality and service some telephone calls may be recorded. 195158_26/09/11