The traffic, which represents around 15 per cent of all mortgages sold by brokers in the UK, is expected to grow even further this year, with 5,000 transactions per week already seen in the first couple of weeks of 2006.
With three new packagers recently confirming their intention to allow applications to be made through MTE and newer lenders including Accord, Derbyshire Building Society and GMAC-RFC adding themselves to the system, MTE said it has a bright future ahead of it.
Mark Lofthouse, chief executive of MTE, said: “Right from the beginning we expected the Mortgage Trading Exchange would be successful but to see transaction volumes reach this level in a relatively short space of time is remarkable.”
The increased level of traffic is attributable not just to the increasing numbers of products available but also the launch of MTE ‘standalone’, which helps to streamline the application process, and the program’s userability.
Being able to complete Key Facts Illustrations, agreement-in-principles and full applications online is becoming an increasingly popular part of completing the application process and Mark Lofthouse is confident the amount of business going through MTE will continue to grow as intermediaries become more technologically minded.
He said: “With 13 lenders, including GMAC and Principality, due to go live over the coming weeks and months, I’m confident that transaction volumes will continue to rise as electronic trading in the industry becomes the norm.”
