Welcome to the second Mortgage Finance Gazette Rated for Service Awards, in association with The Openwork Partnership. Once again, the awards acknowledge and applaud lenders that have supplied outstanding service to brokers. Our accompanying analysis provides brokers with insight into how they rate the service from their lenders, and offers lenders intelligence on the service areas where they are hitting the mark, or leaving room for improvement.
The assessment for this year’s Rated for Service Awards had even more participants than that of last year, with 650 brokers completing the survey — up from 615 in the inaugural ratings. A total of 49 lenders have been scored on their service for the period from June to November 2023, also surpassing last year’s figure of 39 lenders. Those lenders have been assessed across five key service areas: strategic focus, product offering, sales support and communication, underwriting and case processing, and use of technology. The scores have been used to determine which lenders are Top Rated for Service or Rated for Service within three categories: mainstream, specialist and buy-to-let.
Celebrating the best mainstream lenders
The circumstances of borrowers in the mainstream mortgage market tend to be less complex than those of borrowers in other sectors, but the challenges for lenders are not. As the core of the market, mainstream lenders build the foundations upon which the wider sector can thrive. This is why, in the Mortgage Finance Gazette Rated for Service Awards, those judged as either Top Rated for Service or Rated for Service deserve applause.
This year, 38 lenders were scored in the mainstream category, compared to 33 in the inaugural awards. Reflecting the additional lenders, 10 achieved the Top Rated for Service award, compared to eight previously, while nine were Rated for Service, up from eight last year. Remarkably, all lenders that had been Top Rated for Service in the inaugural awards repeated the feat.
The specialist lenders that lead the pack
The specialist-lending sector often comes into its own during more trying market conditions, such as those of recent times. A new era of higher interest rates coupled with an increased cost of living has led some borrowers’ circumstances to shift out of the mainstream and into the specialist space. Whether for borrowers with adverse credit or for those in search of more flexibility, specialist lenders increasingly are on hand to help people locked out by some mainstream lenders.
In this year’s Mortgage Finance Gazette Rated for Service Awards, 17 lenders were scored in the specialist category, up from 11 last time. Four of these were Top Rated for Service, compared to three previously, with another four lenders Rated for Service, up from two in the inaugural awards. Notably, all of last year’s recognised lenders achieved either a Top Rated for Service or a Rated for Service award once more this year.
Honouring the best in buy-to-let
The achievement of those buy-to-let (BTL) lenders awarded either Top Rated for Service or Rated for Service in this year’s awards process cannot be underestimated. The Bank of England’s escalating interest rate during the assessment period made some lenders’ affordability models unworkable for borrowers, creating tough conditions for these lenders.
A total of 36 lenders were scored in the BTL category, compared to 32 in the inaugural Rated for Service Awards. Nine lenders were acknowledged as Top Rated for Service and another nine were Rated for Service — both up from eight lenders last time. All nine Top Rated for Service lenders were commended again for their exceptional service, demonstrating a strong standing within the sector.
Click here to see all of the results
From next week, Mortgage Strategy will publish the MFG Rated for Service Awards supplement, with all the results and analysis available in both print and digital formats.
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