Our Managing Director, Matt Lowndes, Talks Everything Tech
13.11.17So, I’ve been asked to write a monthly tech blog by our lovely marketing gurus. This, ladies and gentlemen, is not something that a man who studied engineering and business finds particularly easy unlike our acclaimed comms leader, Monty.
What better place to start than the UK Finance Annual Mortgage Conference, where I was fortunate enough to have been invited by Capita to discuss mortgage technology on a panel. What’s becoming ever more clear is how the industry, having been dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century, is now accelerating its rate of change. Many of the positive changes and innovation the intermediary sector are experiencing are, in my opinion, driven by the challenger banks. The likes of Tesco, Vida, Digital Mortgages by Atom and now HSBC have produced systems that are very broker friendly and allow a collaborative approach to submitting apps and AIPs. They have no legacy systems, and you have to wonder whether having a blank canvas has allowed them to produce a slick and efficient end-to-end solution.
On Saturday the Guardian ran a review of the ‘ROBO-ADVISERS’ Habito, Trussle, Burrow and Mortgage Gym. A year ago, we were told these guys were going to take over the world; I never believed this then and don’t believe it now. But what is evident is that clients prefer being able to complete online fact finds outside of normal working hours and receive an indication of what mortgage borrowing levels they can achieve along with the lenders that ‘could’ provide them with the right product. As we know, we currently still need a human to verify any selections and computers don’t do empathy very well. This becomes a bit of an issue as buying a home is one of the most emotional transactions we will have ever have to undertake, but when you have the combination of human advice and digital processing working in tandem this will become a very powerful proposition.
Coreco, of course, is a semi-traditional mortgage broker adapting to life in a digital world and we feel that we can adapt smoothly and efficiently to the changing landscape. We already have clients logging in and updating their existing ‘fact find’ information, but we’ve got a long way to go to get to where we want to be. Coreco will be embracing the changes that GDPR, Open Banking and APIs will bring in 2018 and we can’t wait as Customer Obsession is primary to our forward planning and thinking.
Written by Andrew Montlake
Andrew Montlake, better known as Monty, began his journey with an Hons degree in Economics & Politics before starting in the mortgage industry in February 1994. As a main founder of Coreco in 2009, he successfully grew the brand, marketing, and communications, and was made MD in 2019 focussing on the overall vision, strategy, and culture of the company. As Coreco’s media spokesperson, Andrew can often be seen or heard on TV and radio as well as regularly commenting in the national, local, and trade press. He is the author of this acclaimed Mortgage Blog and is well-known for his social media, podcasts, and public speaking. Andrew is now proud to serve as Chairman of the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries, (AMI) as a cheerleader for the Mortgage Industry as a whole and continues to work at the coal face, writing mortgage business and advising clients.
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