Quantcast
Menu

First-time Buyers

HSBC starts mortgage sales through advice channel next week

vickyhartley
Written By:
vickyhartley
Posted:
Updated:
04/02/2015

From Monday 6 October, HSBC will start to offer its mortgages through Countrywide Mortgage Services brokers.

A select range of products will be on offer to the property group’s advisers, with plans to broaden out distribution to the rest of the market in time.

HSBC is offering a range of launch products up to 80% loan to value (LTV) including a 1.49% two-year fixed rate, a 2.99% five-year fixed rate and 1.99% tracker rate with no early redemption penalties.

Peter Dockar, head of mortgages at HSBC UK, told Mortgage Solutions this morning this is not a trial move and that the strategic change reflected market evolution.

“The Mortgage Market Review has brought a clear separation of broker and lender roles. That has solidified our change in approach. We want to lend and we are one of the few lenders who has consistently lent over the last 10 years.”

The move is a clear bid to halt its diminishing market share from 11.3% in 2012 to 8.2% in 2013.

In 2008, HSBC ran a pilot with John Charcol which placed advisers in bank branches which was subsequently shelved.

Dockar said the launch with Countrywide has a very different objective.

“The John Charcol model was a cross-referral situation, where this is a much more traditional format,” said Dockar.

“The timing was very unhelpful in 2008 as the market dropped by two-thirds. This time, the brokers will deal with us in a very similar way to any other intermediary lender,” he added.

Nigel Stockton, financial services director at Countrywide plc, said: “HSBC has an appetite for high quality lending and we are delighted and proud that HSBC has chosen Countrywide to work with them as they look to provide mortgages through intermediaries for the first time in the UK. Our focus is on maintaining excellent standards and speed of service. We are in no doubt that we will prove Countrywide can provide HSBC with more clients for their market leading products and we look forward to working together.”

Jonathan Byrne, head of assets and retail banking at HSBC, said: “We’re offering customers even more choice and convenience when it comes to arranging their mortgage. This is a natural step for us after the launch of our online mortgage service earlier this year and means our award-winning mortgages will be even more widely available to people around the UK.”

HSBC confirmed it had also done £1bn of lending through its online service in the seven months since launch, with a quarter of all its decisions-in-principle originated online. Roughly one in seven proceed fully online, the bank confirmed.

Dockar added: “The majority of our customers use it as a tool then pick up the phone later. But if you are customer-centric, you need to be where your customers are.”

HSBC serves 16.1m customers in the UK and employs approximately 43,500 people.

The fifth largest UK lender’s latest annual results show it completed £14.4bn in mortgage lending over 2013, down from the £16.4bn recorded in the 2012 financial year.

 

 


Tags:
Share: