Lenders will look to take home loan market share from brokers, warned Association of Mortgage Intermediaries outgoing chief executive Robert Sinclair.
Brokers currently account for 87% of all mortgages written in the UK in 2024 – a figure that is expected to rise to 91% in 2026, according to the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association.
But Sinclair said that brokers should not get “complacent” as lenders invest millions into technology to drive more customers direct.
“If I’m a lender, particularly if I’m a lender that may have an overseas parent, which normally does everything direct, I’m asking myself — why would I want to play in a market where I have to pay for 91% of the business I get through the door?,” said the industry veteran giving his final speech at the Stonebridge network’s annual conference in Birmingham last month.
Sinclair added: “And how do I keep that business that comes through the door? In other words, a product transfer versus a remortgage.”
He pointed out: “The pressure is going to come, because it has to come. As interest rates fall, margins get tighter, regulatory costs are higher and technology investments are continuing to drive ever-increasing capital requirements and pressure on firms.
“The desire to automate as much as possible through few-click product transfers is anathema to me in a world of 30-to-35-year mortgages, which are taken out at an average age of 35.
“That can’t be right that there isn’t some form of review to ensure that suitability is right.”
Sinclair added: “I believe that all of the people that you know and I know in lenders have our backs and are absolutely committed to the intermediary world.
“But that does not mean that the people above them, who think about strategy and structure and how to position themselves in the next three or four years, aren’t thinking about the world differently.
“We have to be aware of that and that’s why brokers have to continue to demonstrate our value and worth to them.”
Brokers have voiced concern about their relationships with lenders after having seen a rise in direct online-only deals offered by major banks such as NatWest and Lloyds in recent months.
Sinclair also urged brokers to take advantage of a “once-in-a-decade” remortgage opportunity this year as 1.8 million home loans come to the end of their current deals.
Total lending — including purchases, remortgages and product transfers — could top £500bn this year, according to some industry forecasts.
He said: “The remortgage opportunity this year is huge. There are more mortgages coming to an end this year than any other year for a while. A £500bn market is enough to keep everybody busy.
“But if I ask the biggest lenders what percentage of product transfers come back from the same broker, it’s a lot less than 50%. So, some intermediaries simply aren’t managing their customers very well.”
He added: “2025 looks good to me, because of great opportunities – and you choose what that opportunity is.
“You’ve got the building blocks in place to grow, to diversify and all of the product solutions you need are there, especially in a leading network such as Stonebridge. You only have to be brave enough to grasp the nettle and want to go there.”
Stonebridge chief executive Rob Clifford described Sinclair, who stepped down after handing over to Sesame Bankhall Group director Stephanie Charman last month, as an “icon” of the industry. Sinclair has led Ami since 2008.
Clifford said: “Robert has worked tirelessly to champion the interests of mortgage brokers, pouring his blood, sweat, and tears into his work. He is the brokers’ champion, and his absence will be keenly felt.”
