Mortgage Choice has said that brokers have nothing to fear from digital rivals – at least for now.
Chief financial officer Susan Mitchell, responding to media questions after the company delivered its annual results, said it was hard to imagine any threats to the industry given the state of the market and the growing popularity of the third-party channel.
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“I think in the long run the threats would come from – maybe over the next 10 years – changes in IT platforms, changes in the way in which people deliver mortgages,” she said.
“But for now and in the medium term we really believe that people want to talk to a person when they take on the largest financial commitment that they’re usually going to do in their lifetime.”
Ms Mitchell said several lenders had already tried and failed to master online mortgage delivery.
“I think it’s a very, very important and difficult decision, and I think people need education, they need advice, they need to research what they need to do,” she said.
“And they may research online, but I still think that they need to speak to a person when they’re making that final decision.”
[Related: Industry dismisses threat of mortgage comparison sites]