Broker satisfaction with mortgage lenders has seen a 2.5% increase from 77.8% to 80.3% in the last six months, according to new research from Smart Money People.

However, the findings revealed that overall broker satisfaction has not yet recovered to the peak of 82.70% recorded in H1 2020.

The Mortgage Lender Benchmark from Smart Money People, which comprised feedback from over 590 mortgage brokers on 44 mortgage lenders, found that over half of mortgage lenders saw an increase in their overall rating. Compared to results in H2 2020, the lenders which improved often achieved greater broker satisfaction around the speed and ease of the application process.

Smart Money People suggested the lenders who have seen a decline in their overall rating in H1 2021 often did poorer around customer service, speed and underwriting.

“The improvements in overall satisfaction in H1 2021 represent an increase to an industry average of 80.3%, having dropped by 4.9%, an all-time low, from our last report in H2 2020,” Smart Money People CEO, Jacqueline Dewey, commented.

Dewey suggested the increase is “encouraging” and shows that the mortgage industry is now recovering from the effects of the pandemic.

“Lenders now seem to be comfortable with new working patterns and are better placed to cope with the incredibly high demand we’ve seen during the pandemic,” she added.

“However, broker sentiment is not yet back to pre-pandemic levels, and the results show that there is still more work that lenders can do to improve the broker experience. The next six months will be interesting to watch and see what happens to broker satisfaction, as we see lenders return to offices and adapt to a more permanent state of hybrid working.”

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