The scores in this year’s MFG Rated for service, based on the number of cases a broker submits, offer an insightful look at how service levels vary alongside monthly case volumes.
The lender scores have been broken down between brokers who submit one to five cases per month, six to 10, 11 to 20, and 20-plus.
In last year’s survey, a clear pattern emerged: the more cases a broker submitted, the less favourable the score tended to be.
That trend was evident in this year’s results too. The lowest scores in each category came from brokers submitting 20-plus cases per month.
Meanwhile, brokers submitting one to five cases per month last year gave the highest scores across all three categories. However, this year that applied only in the specialist category. In both the BTL and mainstream categories, the highest scores were given by brokers submitting between six and 10 cases.
Of the 39 mainstream lenders, only nine received their highest scores from brokers who had submitted the most business, although this is an improvement from four last year.
In the specialist market, just one lender out of 17 received their highest scores from brokers submitting 20-plus cases per month, down from two lenders last year.
A similar trend was evident in the BTL market, with just eight of 36 lenders receiving their highest scores from brokers submitting the most cases – the same number as last year.
The overall results are surprising. One might expect that, with higher case volumes, both brokers and lenders would become more familiar with each other’s operations, potentially leading to better service.
On the other hand, brokers submitting the most cases may have more experience of working with a wider range of lenders, which could lead to higher service expectations.
Meanwhile, brokers submitting fewer cases may focus on niche areas, potentially fostering stronger, more personalised relationships with particular lenders.
The exact reasons behind the findings remain unclear, but there appears to be a pattern across all three sectors.
All the data for the Mortgage Finance Gazette Rated for Service 2025 is now accessed via a dashboard. All the ratings data for each lender category, and all the rankings data for each assessment area, is available from the past three years. Lenders’ performance in any of the five assessment areas can now be ranked from highest to lowest across the entire lender panel for each year, and filtered based on broker type and case load.
This year we have also added factor analysis for each lender category, so brokers will be able to benchmark their chosen panel of lenders against the average score for each assessment area (max. of five lenders).
The dashboard brings an unprecedented level of clarity to lender service levels for the broker community. We’d like to hear your feedback in the comments section below, or email piers.johnson@emap.com.
Please see the full dashboard below:
Please click on the cover below to see the print supplement of Mortage Finance Gazette Rated For Service 2025.
