Financial Services Expo in London is being hosted at Old Billingsgate this September 11 (Wednesday)
The mortgage market is evolving and it is up to lenders to define their proposition in a growing marketplace, according to experts taking part in a panel debate at FSE London.
'The Big Lender Debate' featured Adrian Moloney of OneSavings Bank, Jeremy Duncombe of Accord, Chris Pearson of HSBC, Andrew Dean of Nationwide and Esther Dijkstra of Lloyds Bank.
The panel discussed a variety of issues, one of which being growing competition within the mortgage market.
Dijkstra believed that the evolution of the market was positive as it "keeps us on our toes to continue to evolve".
Dijkstra also discussed the view that the mortgage market may follow what has been seen in the wider banking world with neo-banks, those who focus on a small part of a particular market, becoming the main competition.
"This is good as these types of competitors set a standard for others," Dijkstra explained.
Duncombe added that you could now argue there was too much competition in the market, whilst Robert Sinclair of AMI who chaired the debate said the FCA had greater evidence about the number of lenders advisory firms were using in any given year.
Moloney argued that increased competition causes difficulty with margins particularly in the specialist market, with many businesses unable to keep up with the margin on the risk curve that they were taking.
Pearson added that it is important that lenders define their proposition to avoid several lenders coming to market offering similar prices.
The variety seen in the current marketplace was welcomed by Dean, who claimed that there was "no doomsday situation" and plenty of choice.
The panel also discussed a question regarding helping first-time buyers, with Duncombe believing that more needs to be done to help those who want to buy.
Duncombe believed that "too many people are renting into retirement," with Moloney agreeing that more options needed to become available for prospective homebuyers.
The panel was speaking at today’s Financial Services Expo (FSE) London at Old Billingsgate.
