So, in turn, they are working just as hard to benefit the client, for sometimes 50 per cent less than they could earn if the borrower was to remortgage.
It is irrelevant for a lender to claim that because they work less to switch a borrower that a broker should earn less.
It’s the opposite – less processing means a more profitable borrower for the lender. Paying a broker less just increases the profit.
Recently, a lender representative commented at an industry event that "lender procuration fees were under pressure" due to low interest rates.
Brokers naturally commented on this, confident in the belief that the first parties to suffer would be the brokers themselves.
Lenders now have lower levels of staffing in branches.
We hear from clients who have been told that mortgage advisers only visit a town branch one week in three – so unless lenders decide to instead concentrate on Skype interviews or plan to recruit more staff post-Brexit, they will need mortgage brokers to help them achieve their targets for their shareholders.
Yes, brokers are charging client fees where necessary to make ends meet, but if procuration fees truly reflected the level of professional regulatory responsibility that is placed upon us, more brokers would be successful without them. We’re not all backed by hedge funds.
When lenders look to boost their lending pipeline, brokers deliver.
It is time to treat brokers fairly and review the level of procuration fees – deliver change.
Stuart Gregory is managing director of Lentune Mortgage Consultancy
