* A&L is first off the blocks to move 100% of intermediary mortgage business online
* Additional benefits of online system to Intermediaries post-regulation
In 2001 the company broke new ground by becoming the first lender to launch an online mortgage trading system for Intermediaries, and now in 2004 Alliance & Leicester leads the way once again as it takes 100% of its intermediary business online. The market-leading online system already receives over 90% of mortgage applications online and regularly receives positive feedback from Intermediaries as well as winning numerous industry awards2.
As well as offering a cost effective, simple and efficient interactive website, the system will be additionally beneficial to Intermediaries in the regulated environment. The method of submitting mortgages electronically will greatly assist Intermediaries with their record keeping which will help them to meet their compliance obligations for October 31 onwards.
Merhdad Yousefi, Head of Intermediary Mortgages at Alliance & Leicester comments: "We are firmly committed to providing an efficient service to the intermediary market and at the heart of this lies our market-leading online application system."
"Our system has speeded up the whole mortgage application process for intermediaries, providing quicker decisions, faster processing, easy tracking of cases and less paperwork. It is one of the best systems in the market place, and we intend to keep it that way.
"Following the success and popularity of our system we have taken the decision to move 100% of our intermediary business online. This latest development demonstrates Alliance & Leicester’s ongoing commitment to provide a consistent, high impact, and efficient service to meet the needs of our intermediary customers particularly as we head towards regulation in October."
Alliance & Leicester’s online application system offers the following benefits:
* Full flexibility to use the system online and offline
* Provides a fully credit scored decision and confirms the appropriate packaging requirements within 60 seconds
* In a minority of instances where cases are referred, a fully credited decision is communicated within 60 minutes securely via the messaging facility on A&L’s website
* Case tracking 24 hours a day, seven days a week
* Easy to use messages page where messages are stored for up to three months
* Choose whether to submit a Decision in Principle first or go straight to a Full Mortgage Application
* Conversion of credit-scored Decision In Principle to Full Mortgage Application within 28 days — saving the need to re-input data
* Full online submission of Decisions in Principle and Full Mortgage Application
* A dedicated Internet support team, which includes an interactive ‘Call Me Back’ button where a member of A&L’s support team will call back free of charge
* The system will continue to be supported by Alliance & Leicester’s dedicated intermediary mortgage centre in Belfast
Merhdad Yousefi adds: " We have already started proactively contacting all our intermediary contacts to explain the benefits of the online system and help them register, this roll out will continue throughout September."
