Mortgage Benchmarking
Assess the ongoing impact of regulation on costs, quality and productivity with Vertex Financial Services’ annual mortgage benchmarking study.
Vertex Financial Services is now in the fifth year of its mortgage benchmarking study, developed in consultation with the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). The study encompasses point of sale, application processing for new business and additional borrowing, redemptions, general servicing, arrears, customer retention, productivity, intermediary business and a range of qualitative measures, including complaints, errors, conversion rates and speed of processing.
The results of 2006 study showed that although costs of processing have fallen and productivity has increased since the 2005 study, which assessed the first 6 months following regulation, there are still improvements to be made. The 2007 study will be interesting to assess the impact of the increased use of technology, such as electronic Know Your Customer and Automated Valuation Models, on the costs and efficiency of operations. With the introduction of Point of Sale Offers into the market, it is expected that the downhill trend in the speed to offer seen in 2006 will see some improvement this year.
The analysis from the study will enable participants from previous years to establish a trend analysis of costs, productivity and quality; for new participants it is an opportunity to establish a baseline against which to benchmark future improvements to processes, as well as identify areas of efficiency and competitive advantage. And of course, it allows lenders to compare themselves against their competitors in many operational areas.
This year, for the first time, completion of the questionnaire is online. Help screens are available and participants will also receive support via email and a telephone helpline. As with the last three years’ studies, this year’s questionnaire is based on a two-tiered approach, where lenders can either complete detailed questions or a higher level version. Whilst full benefit from the study is gained by completing all questions, the comparison gained from taking part at a high level will add value for those lenders looking to gain an insight into how they compare against their peers, with resource requirements for completing the questionnaire kept to a lower level.
If you would like to participate in the benchmarking study, or would like any further information, please contact:
Sarah Jones on 01242 214277 or email
Paula Hartley on 01242 214242 or email
