Spencer Wyer is VP of products and solutions at Hometrack, part of Zoopla
COVID-19 has proved to be a forcing function for the financial services industry. Driving unpredictable changes in market volumes from lockdown lows through to mortgage payment holidays, and on to stamp duty holiday highs, it has also exerted significant stress on lenders, culminating in delays and exposing weaknesses across the mortgage journey.
Income and expenditure verification is a case in point. A labour intensive activity for consumers, brokers and lenders alike, challenges around verification were amplified during lockdown when the vast majority of the industry was forced to work from home, all the while grappling with an exponential mortgage pipeline. The review and approval of mortgage applications – and specifically the supporting documents – were blighted by a manual and disconnected processes.
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