The Intermediary – October 2025 - Flipbook - Page 13
Q&A
part played by regulation in adding to the firsttime buyers’ affordability and deposit raising
challenges. Skipton and counterparts from
Nationwide and Yorkshire Building Societies
spoke this year at the Treasury Select Committee
and to Downing Street, highlighting the need to
increase the Financial Policy Committee’s loanto-income (LTI) flow cap, and it was gratifying to
hear the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA)
announce in July that it is reviewing the LTI ratio
requirements, offering a modification by
consent while the review is ongoing.
As the BSA notes, the unaffordability
of house prices relative to incomes is
the underlying issue. Intermediate
tenures like First Homes and Shared
Ownership can help, but they need to
be much improved from their current
form, and are always likely to be niche
products. Ultimately, what is needed
is a long-term strategy for housing, with
Government creating conditions for the
housing market where house prices rise in
nominal terms but fall relative to incomes –
helping not just today’s first-time buyers but also
future generations.
How important is conversation with
brokers to Skipton’s proposition?
Brokers play a pivotal role in a customer’s home
buying journey, not only in making sure that they
have a mortgage product that best meets their
needs and circumstances, but also by holding
their hands through the process. Their feedback is
incredibly valuable. Their understanding of their
customers’ circumstances, products that can
help them, and areas where we lenders could do
more, feeds our product development focus and
priorities, helping us to innovate to help future
buyers – so please keep it coming.
Moreover, we don’t just want to launch a
product and forget about it. We host feedback
forums with brokers, where ideas, policy
critiques, and service suggestions are gathered
and put into action where possible. Our policy
on visa applications was adjusted following one
such session. Another change was to our Income
Booster offering, where the maximum age was
raised to 80.
In the day-to-day, BDMs are also out speaking
with brokers and are always open to hearing
their thoughts, feedback and suggestions – just
because we don’t do it now it doesn’t mean we
won’t ever do it.
With affordability pressures, we are focused
on expanding our FTB offering and helping
more people. One vital part of how we do this
is through listening to feedback from brokers
– what are their clients missing and what can
we do to assist? An example is our Track Record
mortgage, which was originally launched with
stricter affordability controls. We’ve changed our
criteria to allow customers to borrow more.
How can lenders promote positive
mental health?
The Mortgage Industry Mental Health
Charter (MIMHC) is a great organisation,
and one we’re delighted to be able to
support.
They have done an enormous
amount of work to de-stigmatise
mental health issues by spotlighting
the stories of individuals and
encouraging conversation. Health is
important, whether that’s physical or
mental, and we need to look after it. Lenders
can
play a valuable role, both in encouraging
LUCY LEWIS
the conversation and raising awareness.
We can also consider any part we can play
in helping to reduce the stress levels of those
working in the industry through our processes
and communications.
What future trends are you looking
ahead to?
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is looking
at whether it can update its responsible lending
rules to support product innovation and greater
homeownership for those customers that can
repay, if firms can give more support to groups
which may be currently underserved by the
mortgage market – including potential first-time
buyers. So, there could be more positive change
on the horizon.
Advice has proven time and again to be key for
borrowers, and even with increasingly efficient
technology, consumers are voting with their feet
and opting to take advice. I don’t believe that this
will change in the near future, but we’ll see the
continued development of tech able to support
the processes in the mortgage journey which can
only lead to efficiencies. We can be certain that
AI will be playing a leading role. ●
The Skipton Group Home Affordability Index is not a benchmark for
the purposes of UK Benchmark Regulation, nor for the purposes
of any other legislation or regulation. The Skipton Group Home
Affordability Index is produced for information purposes only and
must not be used or relied upon for commercial purposes including
any decisions and/or advice. Skipton Building Society is not
responsible for any decisions made based on this information.
October 2025 | The Intermediary
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