Kevin Aitken
Intermediary Relationship Manager
Meet KevinWith over 30 years' experience in financial services, Anne's role is to provide support and help to our Intermediary business partners.
What is your main focus for the intermediary team for the year ahead?
My main focus is to set ourselves apart by offering direct named contacts and dedicated support to our Intermediary business partners. I feel that the human touch in an ever-changing market goes a long way and we will continue to focus on supporting and helping our broker community by delivering the best possible service and products to their clients.
What are the main challenges facing you in the intermediary team?
I think the volatility in the financial markets currently provides challenges to all parts of the mortgage supply chain, and now is a really worrying time for many customers. Our challenge is to ensure we are able to react quickly to market conditions, ensuring we are always in a position to meet our clients expectations and to maintain our competitive position in the market.
What are the opportunities that you see in the year ahead?
As a new mortgage delivery channel within The Cumberland, we have great scope to develop over the next year, both in relation to the number of Intermediaries we can support and the ways in which we offer that support. We are always working hard to enhance our offering - an online based toolkit will be a priority in the year ahead, which will work alongside our dedicated support team.
Can you talk to us about The Cumberland's case-by-case processes?
Whilst many other lenders offer an automated process which cuts out all communication between the broker and lender, the frustration I often hear from brokers is that when you do need to speak to someone, the help is often not there.
At The Cumberland, we offer named relationship managers, who will communicate with brokers from start to finish. We will assess each case on its own merits, working closely alongside our underwriting team to ensure that any supporting information or additional documentation is considered as a whole.
Often, automated systems will decline a case based on a background check or data input. In these situations, launching an appeal can become time consuming and difficult, due to the lack of communication in the automated process. With our process, we have that human touch at each stage, so we can pick cases up manually and apply old fashioned common sense!
What aspects of The Cumberland's intermediary journey are you most excited about?
For me personally, I really enjoy meeting new brokers, finding out about their business and what we can do to help and support them and their customers. Its really rewarding when I see new firms and they hear about the flexibility and personal service we can offer, which they say is like a breath of fresh air.
For more information on how the Intermediary team can support you, visit our Intermediaries page.
