The Intermediary – June 2025 - Flipbook - Page 41
T H E I N T E RV I E W
Paragon
prepopulating company details for instance, or
helping brokers get to the heart of who owns
these limited company structures, etcetera –
a lot of the heavy lift is taken off the broker,
making sure that the applications, when they
get submitted, are in the absolute best place to
be right first time.”
But not every case is straightforward, and
Smart point out there are built-in opportunities
for brokers to flag complexities or clarify
details at every stage of Paragon’s process.
“That really helps to head off questions later
down the line,” he explains.
To support this, Paragon recently rolled out
secure direct case messaging, allowing brokers
to communicate directly with underwriters.
Describing Paragon as “one of the few
lenders that actually encourages direct contact
between brokers and underwriters,” Smart says
that each case is assigned a dedicated case
owner, providing brokers with a consistent
point of contact throughout the process,
adding: “We would just say: never feel afraid to
reach out, to provide more info, ask questions.”
Certainty and speed
At the core of Paragon’s mortgage platform is
a promise to cut through industry noise, and
to provide decisions that are faster, clearer,
and more dependable. While it may be a
straightforward proposition on the surface,
it is one that reflects a deep commitment to
structural change.
Smart says: “The guiding principles are
certainty, transparency, and speed.”
These are not just abstract values – instead,
they are actively shaping the platform’s design
and day-to-day performance. Smart says the
ambition is to reduce friction at every stage
for Paragon’s broker partners, starting with
initial applications.
He adds: “We want more of our applications
getting an instant decision upfront. We want
more of those decisions to hold through the
process, and we also want to be clearer at the
outset in terms of what we need from brokers.”
In practice, this means brokers are not
left guessing or chasing updates, as clearer
expectations are set from the beginning.
A key enabler of this progress is the
platform’s ability to draw from digital data
sources right at the outset.
Smart says this richer data set helps Paragon
build a fuller understanding of each applicant
from the start, adding: “Then when we piece
that together with the information the
broker provides, we feel we are giving clearer
decisions that will hold.”
He continues: “We do a decision in principle
on every single case – and certainly a large
proportion of our business would receive an
instant decision. We are hovering at around the
78% mark at the moment.”
For the more complex cases, underwriters
take the lead, but brokers still benefit from
clearly defined next steps and requests.
“With that instant decision, we then confirm
what we need from the broker – for example
supporting documentation,” Smart adds.
The goal is to compress the time and
effort required to move from submission to
offer, without sacrificing quality or accuracy.
As Smart puts it: “All those things coming
together, we would expect to see quicker offers
for brokers and customers.”
Raising awareness
While the platform launch marked a
major milestone, for Paragon it was only
the beginning. Backed by a dedicated
transformation team, the bank’s vision to
become “the leading technology enabled
specialist bank in the UK,” can be seen in other
areas of the business too, such as the launch of
the Spring savings app.
Smart says: “We’ve already completed
several enhancement drops,” with many of
the refinements coming directly from broker
feedback. That iterative approach is part of
what sets Paragon apart – taking real-world
insights and acting on them quickly to make
the platform faster and smarter. The next wave
of innovation is already underway. Leveraging
the platform’s growing bank of data, Smart and
his team are now exploring how to streamline
the process even further.
He explains: “We think we can actually
reduce the number of documents that we take
from brokers.”
While he remains tight-lipped regarding
some of the “exciting things” on the road
ahead, the bank prioritises less friction, more
intelligence, and better outcomes for brokers
and customers alike.
But innovation is not just about tech. It is
also about expanding reach and reshaping
perception.
“Buy-to-let is in our DNA,” Smart says. “We
don’t only want to be seen as just the home for
seasoned professional landlords; we also want
to be known for those first-time buyers too.”
He concludes: “With all of that experience,
we should be the natural fit for people to go
to. Given our heritage, and when you add in all
of the capability of the new system, this is the
ideal point to be raising awareness.” ●
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