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The aggregator is piloting a new tool that gives brokers insights into the volume and quality of applications that a lender is processing, in order to help provide more accurate turnaround time estimates.
Connective will this week launch a pilot of a new Lender Turnaround Time Dashboard in a bid to “help brokers deliver a higher quality, more consistent service to their clients”.
The tool aggregates and draws insights from data regarding the volume and quality of applications that a lender is processing at any given time, and looks at how they are delivering on similar applications in the same time period.
It is hoped that the Lender Turnaround Time Dashboard will provide brokers with the information they need to give clients a clearer picture of turnaround times.
Speaking of the new tool, Connective chief executive officer Glen Lees noted that consistency in the way lenders measure and present their loan approval turnaround times had “always been a challenge for the industry” given there are currently few agreed standard practices on turnaround times maintained by the industry.
He added that inaccurate estimates of wait times can impact the quality of service that brokers deliver to their customers, which has been exacerbated by the flurry of activity throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and the best interests duty reforms.
Indeed, recent data from Momentum Intelligence’s Broker Pulse survey shows that major banks suffered from longer turnaround times over December, while aggregation group AFG recently found that lender turnaround times were at their slowest levels for three years, with the time taken from loan submission to approval surpassing 25 days in the last three months of 2020.
However, Mr Lees explained that having a clear understanding of lender turnaround times had always been “problematic” for brokers as “there is very little consistency in the way lenders report the information, which can be dependent on many factors such as the volume and quality of applications that a lender is processing at any given time”.
He continued: “We quickly decided that there was no such thing as one number to describe a lender’s performance, and that it was important to consider not only the range of times taken by a lender, but to also look at how that data changes over time.
“This data also needs to be considered in the context of overall volume, and overall approval rates,” Mr Lees said.
The Connective CEO continued: “We work with tens of thousands of applications and over 60 lenders, giving us an incredible insight into how lenders are actually performing over time.
“We’ve developed a dashboard for our members based on our market-leading analytics platform that aggregates and draw insights from this data in near real time.
“This will provide our members with the information they need to give informed, data-backed advice to their clients, and truly tailor their service to their individual needs,” he said.
While the initial phase will collect and test the platform’s data through Connective’s customer relationship management platform, Mercury Nexus, the aggregation group said it would roll out the service broadly to both members and non-members in coming weeks.
“The importance of brokers has increased through the pandemic, as has the compliance burdens placed upon them.
“Using tools like our new dashboard, which is part of the Mercury Nexus platform, our members will be best placed in the industry to successfully manage the dual challenges of serving their clients and meeting their compliance obligations,” Mr Lees concluded.
[Related: Turnaround issues highlight need for better tech]
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