Smart Money People’s latest Mortgage Lender Benchmark study reports an increase in overall broker satisfaction since the last study (second half 2022), as lenders bounced back after the turbulence from the September 2022 ‘mini-budget’.

Overall satisfaction with mortgage lenders is up by 4.0% to 83.4%, the highest average rating recorded by Smart Money People’s report.

Whilst the industry was already seeing growth pushing towards this level pre-covid and before the cost -of-living crisis, these ratings benefit from brokers seeing noticeable improvements when comparing current performance to previous poorer performance.

Net Promoter Score (NPS), a key measure of loyalty, saw lenders range between -46.6 and 68.4. The average for all lenders was 34.0, an increase of 12.9 points on the previous report.

The bi-annual independent research study aims to show which lenders are currently providing the best service levels to mortgage brokers and their customers.

The first-half 2023 study saw more than 770 brokers provide feedback on 113 lenders resulting in 3,724 individual reviews.

Within the study, brokers are asked about lenders’ criteria, speed, eligibility, communication and relationship managers. They’re also asked to share what they like about each lender and what could be better.

Smart Money People chief executive Jacqueline Dewey comments: “Despite the almost constant volatility and pressures across all aspects of the mortgage process, I find the results in our tenth edition of the Mortgage Lender Benchmark encouraging. They show a commitment by lenders, whatever the market conditions, to deliver a great service and experience to brokers and their customers.

She adds: “Since our H1 2023 survey was conducted, we’ve seen yet another state of flux with questions raised about how lenders interact and communicate with brokers around rate changes. It will be interesting to see how that’s reflected in our H2 2023 study, with the results announced late Q4 2023.”