While condemning Nationwide for an apparent lack of clarity in their product range, was it not the case that this ‘two tier’ approach was specifically to help and support those with smaller mortgages?
Lending in an area which still has a reasonable number of mortgages below £75,000, I heralded the day the large mutual took this step, as it reflected all mutual’s aspiration to be more client-focused than their plc counterparts.
I have found in the real world that borrowers with modest mortgages have found the no-fee options attractive compared to the alternative of compounded fees. Surely as intermediaries and professional advisers, we can either pick up a calculator to assess the break-even point for our clients as to whether a fee or no-fee based product is the best value for money.
Any move to a fee only based option, for me, signifies a very clear and rather concerning message to say: “If you have a large enough mortgage, we care.” That would be a sad indictment of our industry indeed if product innovators are pushed to make such a statement on our behalf.
Ian Watters
Mortgage manager
Dodd Financial Services Limited
