Speaking at the HSBC great housing debate in London this morning Tracie Pearce, head of mortgages at HSBC, said the lender planned to increase its “reach” into the broker sector in 2015.
She said: “We recognise HSBC was late into the intermediary market but we understand its importance. We like the value that it adds and understand that consumers want access to our products via the intermediary.
“That’s the reason why we will continue to expand our reach into this segment this year.”
Sources have suggested that the lender is likely to announce the addition of Legal & General to its broker panel in the coming months, though the lender did not confirm this.
Legal & General Mortgage Club director Jeremy Duncombe declined to comment on whether there would be any tie up with the lender.
Pat Bunton, chairman of the Association of Intermediaries and director of London & Country – a major DA that uses Legal & General Mortgage Club – refused to comment on any prospective deal.
But he said: “We would welcome HSBC moving further into the intermediary space and would see that as a positive move for the market.”
Pearce added: “There is a very clear demand for both direct and intermediary mortgage lending. Consumers should be able to freely choose whether they pop down to their local branch and see their mortgage adviser there or speak to one of the intermediary partners.”
In October last year HSBC launched its first intermediary mortgage offering through Countrywide brokers after years of shunning the broker market.
Nigel Stockton, financial services director at Countrywide, said: “We have been proud to trail-blaze the HSBC entry to the intermediary market. Their products are excellent and the service proposition has matched other, more established, intermediary lenders.
“The business has performed well, particularly in remortgage, and we hope to extend the products to include higher loan-to-value products for first-time buyers and buy-to-let in the next quarter."
