Jack Saxton, managing director of Halifax Intermediaries, told Mortgage Introducer that the lender was moving forward with a strategic plan with DA firms specifically in mind.
Plans included the recruitment of 20-25 additional business development managers (BDMs), a redesign of the Halifax Intermediaries website on the back of broker feedback and a rethink on how the lender works with mortgage clubs.
Saxton explained: “We’ve got 50 BDMs and despite their best efforts, they cannot get around the 15,000 small firms who we do business with. We use mortgage clubs to get product and service information out there, but we are thinking of reducing the number of clubs we deal with and forging closer links with the important ones. This is part of our strategic plan to deal better with DAs. We’re going to be sitting down with brokers to say ‘if you haven’t got a BDM knocking on your door every week, how best can we help you?’.”
In addition, Saxton said Halifax would also be growing its telesales staff next year and host regular roadshows to help keep brokers informed and find out how the lender could deal with DAs better.
John Malone, managing director of Premier Mortgage Services, said: “One of the issues big players have is they have always suggested clubs like PMS don’t have the influence in the same way networks do. We have always been able to communicate with both sizeable brokers and one-man bands and we have always had strong relationships with lenders and brokers. We are now seeing recognition of this link and the help we give the lending fraternity.”
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