A changing regulatory environment

New regulations relating to cladding, arrears, possessions, and the Statutory Debt Repayment Plan (SDRP) are creating a constantly changing environment for lenders and other mortgage stakeholders. Economic uncertainty and cost of living burdens, coupled with increasing interest rates and inflation, are also creating a more pressurised risk environment.

Similarly, the move towards sustainability and green mortgages – including proposals to require lenders to disclose data on the EPC ratings of their portfolios by 2023 – means that lenders are going to see increased data disclosure requests. This is to get a clearer picture of their risks.

While changing regulation and the need to manage risk isn’t new, the current trends highlight the need for lenders to have a mortgage platform that’s ready to accommodate new data requirements as new regulations are enforced.

Competitive pressures

As digital reshapes the mortgage industry, regulatory, risk and compliance strategies, they must continue to evolve in order to remain competitive. As new challengers and FinTechs enter the market, traditional lenders are increasingly being forced to re-examine their operating models, which we see as a positive thing.

Fated systems and manual processes behind most current mortgage journeys are not set up to help lenders adapt and pivot quickly, let alone enable them to manage increased volumes of customer data for things like affordability assessments and KYC checks. These legacy systems also affect the service offered by lenders – which isn’t living up to customer expectations who want a more personalised and efficient experience. The maintenance of these antiquated systems is also hindering lenders’ growth ambitions and forcing more measures focused on cost-cutting rather than profits and enhancing services.

Prioritising tech investments

Recent research we commissioned in partnership with Celent, a member of Oliver Wyman Group, showed that lenders are now looking at their tech investments to address their biggest challenges. The research included interviews with mortgage industry executives in the UK and highlights the top five areas where lenders are investing in 2022, which were:

1. Enhancing digital channels
2. Upgrading CRM and customer engagement systems
3. Improving application processing times
4. Improving the broker experience
5. Increasing change agility.

While direct applications are set to increase to 40 per cent by 2025, the broker channel is anticipated to remain the primary distribution channel for mortgages in the UK. It’s therefore encouraging to see lenders prioritising investment in both these areas. 

Conclusion

It’s a dynamic time in mortgages from a technology perspective and in terms of where compliance, risk, and regulation are driving the industry. The underlying key message of the session with UK Finance, and consensus from attendees, was that while vision and strategic priorities can and should differ from lender to lender, technology and innovation must be central to support the future state of the industry. This will be necessary to accommodate new regulations, improve the experience for customers and brokers, and help provide an agile, future-ready mortgage business.  

To learn more about nCino’s mortgage solution: https://www.ncino.com/mortgage

Register here for UK Finance’s Annual Mortgage Dinner on 7 December 2022, sponsored by nCino.