FSEGlasgow: Look to remortgaging to grow business levels – Robert Sinclair

Remortgaging has seen its market share grow from the middle of last year but Sinclair, who was speaking at the Financial Services Expo in Glasgow, maintained existing clients are still the ones to focus on.

FSEGlasgow: Look to remortgaging to grow business levels – Robert Sinclair

AMI chief executive Robert Sinclair today urged brokers to target the remortgage market this year and next to grow their business volumes.

Remortgaging has seen its market share grow from the middle of last year but Sinclair, who was speaking at the Financial Services Expo in Glasgow, maintained that existing clients are still the ones to focus on.

He said: “If you’re going to get business growth in 2017 and 2018, it’s likely to come from the remortgage market.

“That means you have to talk to existing clients.”

He reckoned intermediaries will grow their market share in the next few years but technology will take some of that away.

He added: “I see the intermediary market share as being incredibly powerful, but technology might get in the way.

“In terms of gross mortgage lending a figure of around £250bn per year is probably about the right number. Intermediary share will continue to rise upwards.”

Sinclair said the ‘hidden market’ of product transfers could impact brokers, while he also highlighted the issue of lenders withdrawing binding offers.

He said: “My view of the market post-MCD is that unless there is a fraud or a fundamental change of circumstances then that offer should be binding.

“I see that change as a change to the customer’s circumstances but I’m seeing cases where the lender, or the valuer, has done something wrong and then the offer gets withdrawn.”