The pilots are being run in London, the North West and the Midlands, with plans to potentially expand the scheme across other cities in the UK at a later date. If they prove successful, Nationwide will officially appoint BDMs to handle business queries in designated areas of the UK. The lender currently engages with brokers solely through its branches.
As part of the pilot scheme, each BDM is allocated between 100 and 200 brokers and offers face-to-face services and advice on concerns such as underwriting queries. The aim is to facilitate any problems or queries brokers may have with service and products.
Tim Hughes, head of intermediary markets at Nationwide, said the pilot is in response to months of gathering broker opinion which called for greater engagement from the lender in day-to-day working activities.
He said: “Brokers want more regular contact and a definitive point of contact when dealing with Nationwide. The pilot has been launched to address this. Currently, Nationwide deals with brokers through our branches throughout the UK, and we need to focus on developing this. The idea is the broker finds us easier to do business with and we can build a long-term relationship.”
Hughes added that while the lender also hoped to increase its sales volumes, its priority was to make the firm easier to do business with.
Ray Boulger, senior technical manager at John Charcol, welcomed the move but said getting the proposition right was crucial. He said: “There is certainly no doubt that brokers value good BDMs, but they have to add value and understand the products and niches available. A good BDM should encompass all of these things and if they don’t, brokers will not use them.”
