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18 July 2017

86% of brokers have shrugged off political and economic uncertainty to deliver a half year business performance which they rate as either on or above target. 

The survey, carried out by United Trust Bank, polled intermediaries from the fields of property and asset finance. It asked them to rate their business performance to date and suggest what lenders could change to give their second half year a boost

25% of respondents rated their business performance to date as ‘Excellent’ and a further 61% indicated that their performance was ‘Good’. 13% rated their first half of 2017 as ‘Poor’ or ‘Terrible’

How would you describe your 2017 business performance to date

Excellent! – Performance is above target	25%
Good – Performance is on target	61%
Poor – Performance is below target	12%
Terrible – It’s been a disaster so far this year	1%
Don’t know	1%

Brokers were also asked to choose one thing lenders could change which would help their business performance this year. More than a third of brokers (35%) wanted lenders to be more flexible on credit whilst 18% wanted lenders to reduce rates and charges. 

Choose one thing lenders could change to help your 2017 business performance

Be more flexible on credit	35%
Reduce rates and charges	18%
Speed up decisions on proposals	16%
Improve technology and communication	9%
Increase commissions	7%
Provide reliable decisions	6%
Other	5%
Nothing lenders can do will improve my business performance	4%

Harley Kagan, Group Managing Director of United Trust Bank, commented

“It’s encouraging to see that most brokers are continuing to complete good levels of business regardless of any perceived uncertainty. Many experts predicted that companies would become more cautious and put investment and growth plans on ice pending a clearer picture of what Brexit will look like. However, feedback from most brokers suggests that there are still plenty of developers and SMEs seeking help to source funding for growth and acquisitions. It’s easy to forget that most smaller businesses operate in a very local market and as such will feel that the plans they have will be largely unaffected by our eventual relationship with the EU

“Although it’s impossible for lenders to be all things to all customers where credit is concerned, being able to deal with proposals expediently and making swift, reliable decisions is a ‘must have’ for most brokers when choosing a lender. At UTB we constantly review our pricing, service and processes to identify where improvements can be made and recruit high quality staff with the same focus on delivering an exemplary customer experience. We will do all we can to support brokers, working collegiately to assist developers and SMEs in finding competitive funding quickly and efficiently.”