While economic uncertainty and financial pressures were still there for some, the downward movement of mortgage rates and the easing of affordability assessments proved helpful for others.

Against this backdrop, mortgage advisers were kept busy, as were our lending partners. But the pace of product changes certainly slowed to more manageable levels and this is borne out in the latest set of results from the Rated for Service survey, which make positive reading.

The Openwork Partnership is again delighted to sponsor the survey with Mortgage Finance Gazette, for the fourth year running. It gives us a window into the world of the mortgage adviser, working with lenders ‘at the coalface’, and provides a level of granular detail that we simply wouldn’t get elsewhere.

The results present a benchmark for lenders, and a chance to compare their performance with that of their peers in a market where strategic focus and partnership with mortgage intermediaries is as topical as ever.

This year’s results reveal some interesting findings and positive movements. While all the talk among advisers is of the threat of lenders utilising technology to build direct relationships with customers, in the mainstream category, nine of the top 10 ‘Top Rated’ lenders scored higher than last time for strategic focus. Intermediated business remains critical to all major lenders.

There were a couple of standout lenders where commitment to intermediaries helped deliver a big rise in overall scores.

It’s pleasing to see Barclays move into the ‘Top Rated’ category for the first time — a testament to its team’s work on improving its overall proposition for advisers. The technology score increase shows how well the new system has landed.

Santander’s focus on its intermediary partners — with increased lending — and the pledges it launched last year also seem to have resonated well with advisers across the board, with an increase in score.

The survey provides a level of granular detail that we simply wouldn’t get elsewhere.

It’s interesting to see underwriting and case processing, as well as product, showing minor declines versus 2024, so there’s plenty for us to work on with lenders in the coming months. The adviser insight and verbatim comments are again invaluable in driving our lender review meetings.

In the specialist lender space, while the lender rankings are similar to last year’s, it’s interesting to note that intermediary-only lenders continue to dominate the Top Rated and Rated rankings; an indication perhaps that mortgage advisers remain an important ally to lenders in reaching borrowers with needs not met by the high street.

In the buy-to-let rankings, specialist lenders and building societies performed well, with some of the highest scores in sales support and communication. But, as with the mainstream category, underwriting and case processing scored lowest, showing there are still frustrations in helping clients with more complex needs.

Although 2025 offered more stability for advisers, as we head into 2026 and beyond, both threats and opportunities will come our way. The regulatory environment will continue to change and there will be plenty for mortgage advisers to deal with. The focus will be on working in partnership with lenders and helping clients through their financial journey, building relationships that are deeper and less transactional.

All Rated for Service data is accessed via the dashboard. To access the rankings data for each assessment area, simply select the Ranking button on the lender category of your choice. You can then filter the data based upon the ranking for each assessment area to determine descending/ascending lender performance.

Factor analysis is also available for each lender category to enable benchmarking across a panel of lenders versus the average score for each assessment area. This can be filtered by broker type and case load, providing tailored benchmarks for individual brokers (max. of five lenders).

Please see the full dashboard below: