Next week (February 8) marks 100 days since ‘Mortgage Day’ and the survey found that nearly one in two brokers (44 per cent) said regulation had decreased profit levels, citing the fact that they are spending more time trying to achieve the same levels as pre-regulation. 47 per cent of all brokers said they would have to increase turnover to achieve the level.
Time was another factor hitting the intermediary pocket. 71 per cent of brokers agreed that the sales process takes longer with 45 per cent estimating that the process took two hours longer.
On the subject of appointed representative (AR) or directly authorised (DA), nine out of ten (90 per cent) of brokers choosing the directly authorised route felt they’d made the right decision, compared to 54 per cent who chose the AR route.
15 per cent of ARs are considering a switch to DA. Mehrdad Yousefi, head of intermediary mortgages at Alliance & Leicester, said: “It is evident that brokers are spending a lot of time and effort to ensure they are fully compliant and as the 100th day approaches some are still adapting to life in a regulated environment.”
Ian Giles, marketing director at Purely Mortgages, disagreed. He said: “Regulation has had no impact on our profit levels. It might even lead to their increase if our fees-free impartial mortgage advisory and arrangement service continues to grow at its present rate in what is supposed to be a subdued market.”.
