It’s an interesting dynamic that while business volumes are going down in the mortgage marketplace, the service levels have quickly fallen as well. A situation that in theory is counter intuitive as lower volumes should provide more time to deal with each application, helping service levels rise.
Looking below the surface, while volumes have decreased, supply as decreased more, with many players closing to new business. With major players like GMAC closing their doors and many specialist players such as Advantage, Salt and Mortgages PLC and several others are closing up shop, those left are in fact dealing with increased business against which they are applying more complicated criteria and underwriting processes.
Never before has a streamlined, technology led, mortgage origination programme been needed more and the real shame is that some of the best systems in the market such as GMAC’s and Mortgage PLC’s, are no longer in use. While some of the bigger players such as C&G, who remain behind the times in ecommerce terms and have less of a reputation for service are getting more and more volumes of business to processes and service levels are suffering.
It’s always difficult to invest in the downturns of markets but if ever investment in electronic systems was needed, it is now.
