Earlier this month I was delighted to be able to announce the beginning of our new partnership with Foundation Home Loans. It’s the second such announcement for us in the last three months and it prompted me to reflect on the commonality of the conversations that we have with people about new technology and banking platforms.

While changing technology may be a progressive step for many organisations, I believe it is also an appreciation of the broader risks facing financial institutions that has a lot to do with the steps lenders are taking to sure up their infrastructure in light of more recent events.

Target operating models are having to change in a climate where interest rates are changing rapidly, expectations of delivering evidence for Consumer Duty will increase and a more digital broker and borrower experience leaves older platforms incapable of delivering change quickly, efficiently and at reasonable cost.

But there is also a much wider acceptance that the challenges of the future will have to be met with systems that can face into those headwinds offering agility and interoperability. When you do not know what the next shock looks like all you can be is ready and equipped to act quickly and confidently to address them.

Legacy systems have many more problems with which their owners are doubtless familiar. Costly to upgrade and make changes, those changes can take far too long to make and are too often about catching up to address the problems in the here and now – less so about being prepared for the challenges of the future.

Yet in a future where cybercrime and economic shocks to markets and funding dominate the risks facing financial institutions, new technology is a key part of delivering the operational agility and confidence to meet them.

When you have to evolve everything from lending standards to operational processes in the face of unforeseen change (whether market, regulatory or from tech like AI), it is no understatement to say having the right tools in the bag is a necessity.

Leveraging new technologies such as SaaS based operating platforms and being flexible enough to respond to constant market evolutions are key to growth and survival.

With margins under constant pressure from market and regulatory demands, lenders must maximise profit and keep costs down. Financing the business growth and maintaining and nurturing business relationships is important in preparing for all economic weathers.

The real change in the conversation for me is that lenders do not talk about sticking plasters to address the challenges going forward. There is a consensus that the only way to meet, address, manage and report on lending is to employ a solution that works from the base up.

For my part, it is always pleasing to hear our clients literally telling us that our systems deliver a best-in-class platform that offers their businesses the capability to meet our future strategy as well as deliver a first-class broker and borrower experience.

However, it is clear that systems are having to go well beyond this remit and enable firms to be prepared for the challenges that lie ahead. The benefits of change have not altered but the motivations are growing.

Jerry Mulle is UK managing director at Ohpen