Paul Darwin, head of intermediary sales at the Skipton, explained the results were even more gratifying as it defied perceived market trends, especially when considering the reports of fragility in the first-time buyer market. He admitted that the bulk of business was remortgages and pointed to the free valuation and legal fees option as the major reason.
He said: “The key to the strong volumes being experienced is communication. Our brokers have developed a strong relationship with our experienced underwriters; such communication is the key to the speed of turnaround in cases and this results in a high conversion rate.
“Brokers can speed up their processes and benefit from our underwriters ‘can do’ attitude to lending.”
Paul Hearnden, managing director at My Mortgage Direct, said although Skipton has some good products and underwriters, the figures mentioned were surprising. “Volumes in general are down on last year as were last May’s rates on offer from most mainstream lenders,” he said.
“I can only assume that Skipton either had a particularly poor month last year or it has just started talking to its brokers.”
Tom Gurrie, intermediary sales controller at the Chelsea Building Society, commented: “We have seen a significant growth in introduced business so far this year.
“We are satisfied that we are growing at a sustainable level that not only fits with our business forecasts but more importantly at a speed that allows us to maintain the type of broker service that we pride ourselves upon.”
