Knowledge Bank launches packager access
01 November 2017
Knowledge Bank has this week launched direct access to packagers and master brokers. This will be of benefit not only to packagers but also to brokers and lenders.
Lenders with their criteria on Knowledge Bank can now select which packagers they accept business from and whether it is optional or mandatory for the broker to go through a packager to place business with them. They will be able to do this for every different lending type, so this information will be specific to the search the broker has conducted, for example if a lender accepts packaged business for buy-to-let, but direct business for first charge residential, then the packager symbol will only appear when the broker conducts a search for buy-to-let.
So a broker will conduct a criteria search to see which lenders will take their client’s case. If any or all of the lenders revealed in the search require the broker to go through a packager or master broker to submit business this will become immediately apparent.
Where a lender accepts business through a packager, it will be denoted by a P symbol, letting the broker know that they either can or must use a packager to submit business to that lender. This will be colour coded as to whether it is mandatory or optional.
When the broker clicks the packager option they will see all the details of the packager the lender has approved them to use, together with the packager’s contact details and a link to their website and email address.
This has been designed to save the broker time and make their life as easy as possible as now they will be able to click on their chosen packager’s email address to immediately send details of the case they wish to place.
It will also be great for packagers and master brokers as it will draw attention to the services that they provide.
Networks will also be able to tailor this to display only the packagers or master brokers that their ARs are permitted to use. Networks can also do this with regards to lenders, so ARs of a particular lender only ever see the criteria for the lenders on that network’s panel.
Knowledge Bank now contains over 26,000 different criteria across over seventy different lenders. This is up from just 18,000 criteria and 48 lenders at launch just three months ago. Over 17,000 different broker searches have been conducted in the three months since launch and some lenders are already reporting an uplift in business, while brokers report that it is making their lives easier and enabling them to see more clients.
Nicola Firth, CEO of Knowledge Bank and its parent company Compass Systems, says, “After a broker has searched the criteria on Knowledge Bank to find out which lenders may take their client’s case, it then makes it simple for them to contact the packager or master broker with the case details straight away if the lender prefers this route of case submission.
“Like the whole of Knowledge Bank, the packager section has been designed to make brokers’ lives easier and shorten the amount of time it takes to find the information they need and place a case. In this case it will also make life easier for lenders and showcase both packagers and master brokers.”
Mortgage brokers can sign up for a 30 day free trial at: www.yourknowledgebank.co.uk while lenders can contact us to arrange access to the system to showcase their criteria by emailing hello@yourknowledgebank.co.uk
