The past year has been difficult for many lenders but despite tough conditions there are some good stories out there, so why not share them with us and the mortgage lending industry in the Mortgage Finance Gazette Awards.
MORTGAGE FINANCE GAZETTE AWARDS 2010 - AT A GLANCE
Mortgage lenders and product providers – call for nominaitions
The following awards are for readers to nominate organisations or an individual.
Innovator – large lenders
Innovator – small to medium-sized lenders
Innovator – non-lenders
Community Services – large lenders
Community Services – small to medium-sized lenders
Community Services – non-lenders
Excellence in Treating Customers Fairly – large lenders
Excellence in Treating Customers Fairly – small to medium-sized lenders
Excellence in Treating Customers Fairly – non-lenders
Best Debt and Arrears Management Strategy – mortgage lenders
Ecological/Green Award – mortgage lenders
Best Use of Technology – lender and/or supplier
Best Anti-Fraud Measure – lender and/or supplier
Individual Achievement Award – an individual within the mortgage lending industry
Leadership/Ambassador Award – an individual within the mortgage lending industry
PRODUCT PROVIDER AWARDS
The product provider awards do not require nominations, they will be chosen from statistics compiled by Defaqto.
Best Overall Lender
Best National Bank
Best Lifetime Mortgage Provider
Best Buy-to-Let Mortgage Provider
Best Insurance Provider
MFG Awards
Last minute entries will be accepted up until Thursday 17 September, which is just before the judging day.
Award winners will be invited to attend a private function in the early evening of 27 October at Balls Brothers,
We are seeking nominations from lenders and financial services companies that have some positive news to share. We want to find those who deserve to be recognised for attributes such as innovation, community services, treating customers fairly, green credentials, best use of arrears management, best use of technology and best anti-fraud measure.
There are two individual awards - one for the Ambassador within the industry who is at the forefront of business; and the other is an individual achievement award for anyone who goes beyond the call of duty.
The awards will be a mix of recognising the achievements of people and lenders and accolades for best products from the best providers.
Some of the awards will be worked out using detailed statistics from Defaqto while others will be sourced from MFG readers who can nominate potential worthy winners. A judging day will take place where the winners and runners-up within the nominated categories are chosen by a panel of judges.
Some of the categories are divided into ‘large lenders’ and ‘small to medium-sized lenders’. As a guide we are suggesting that larger lenders are classed as those with total assets or total mortgage balances outstanding of £5 billion plus. This means the large lenders are likely to be among the top 25 in size.
Innovator of the Year Award
There are three categories to this award for different elements of the industry - large lenders, small to medium-sized lenders and, new this year, non-lenders.
Innovation for this award can relate to mortgage products, delivery channels, the use of technology to improve business efficiency and customer relationships, and ways of working with and managing people.
Last year’s winners were HSBC for its Rate Matcher Mortgage, which it relaunched last month; and Astra Mortgages, part of Norwich & Peterborough Building Society, for its Point of Sale Decision system that allowed mortgage introducers to offer customers a lower interest rate if they have a low risk profile.
Community Services Award
This award recognises work in the voluntary sector, to which many lenders are very committed. There are awards for both large and small to medium-sized lenders but also non-lenders.
Although financial contributions and fundraising are important criteria, the judges will be interested in staff involvement in terms of secondments, fundraising and voluntary activities. Judging may not necessarily be based on one particular project - although a really worthwhile exercise would be taken into consideration - but on the sum of the parts and the role community service plays in the corporate identity of the organisation.
Last year’s winners were HSBC for its very successful financial education project, “What Money Means”, which helps to improve financial capability of children in 17,500 primary schools all over the country; and Darlington Building Society for its dedication to “Looking after Local Interest”, particularly its support of local hospices plus its hospices affinity savings account and mortgage product.
Excellence in TCF
Treating Customers Fairly is a major initiative of the Financial Services Authority and an important part of being a financial services provider. There are three categories – large mortgage lenders, small to medium-sized mortgage lenders and non-lenders.
It is an FSA requirement that all financial services organisations have appropriate management information or measures in place to test whether they are treating their customers fairly. For this nomination just explain how you have been living and breathing TCF. Do you have a TCF policy in place which is fully understood by your staff?
The lender winner was Newbury Building Society for its “Thinking Like Customers” personal development programme. This initiative uses six key business commitments linked to the FSA’s six TCF outcomes, and a TCF committee meets monthly and reports to the board.
The financial service product provider category was won by British Insurance for working tirelessly to revive the flagging reputation of payment protection insurance.
Best Debt and Arrears Management Strategy
These are tough times for those borrowers who are feeling the pinch in the credit crunch era. Arrears and repossessions are rising but many lenders are doing their very best to keep their customers with a roof over their heads. If you have a good strategy that’s working and helping people, share your success with us.
Last year’s winner was Yorkshire Building Society for a detailed strategy starting with a focus on contacting customers as early as possible to discuss payment difficulties and agree solutions.
Ecological/Green Award – mortgage lenders
This award can be for anything to do with the environment from green mortgage products to organisations improving their carbon footprints, having recycling schemes, or conducting climate change initiatives. The judges will be looking for changes that organisations have made to boost their green credentials and what impact that has had on the environment.
Best Use of Technology – lender and/or supplier
This award is open to both lenders and suppliers, either individually or as a team. For example, it could be a joint nomination for a lender and a supplier who have worked well together. Alternatively, perhaps a supplier has been successful with a number of lenders because of its systems. What the judges will be looking for is evidence of a positive outcome through the use of technology. This might mean the best use of technology has resulted in business growth or customer service has excelled or processes have become easier. These are just examples as this award covers the whole spectrum of IT within mortgage finance.
Best Anti-Fraud Measure - lender and/or supplier
Fraud is becoming more and more of a problem in today’s world, especially since the recession hit and fraud becomes more visible. But financial organisations are trying to combat this growing menace and we want to hear about the best solutions to tackle fraud. This could be mortgage fraud or phishing or ID fraud or any other type of financial fraud where organisations have put in measures to reduce fraud or stamp it out. Again this could be a joint nomination between lender and supplier or separate entries.
Individual Achievement Award
This award is open to anyone, irrespective of where they are employed in the hierarchy, who have succeeded in their work or career in difficult circumstances or who have succeeded in an individual challenge that is out of the ordinary. In the past it has been won by people who work tirelessly for their local community through fund raising or giving of their time to helping others or have been brave in the face of adversity. There are individuals out there who truly do some amazing things, so why not nominate a colleague who has gone beyond the call of duty.
Leadership/Ambassador Award
This is in recognition of diplomatic and spokesman skills which have reflected well on the industry generally, as well as on the recipient’s own organisation. It also incorporates leadership qualities where the nominee can focus their organisation on its corporate goals and direct the management team and business effectively. Nominees for this category are likely to be quoted frequently by the media and seen addressing conferences and other events.
John Goodfellow, chief executive of Skipton Building Society, was the winner of this award last year.
How to nominate
If you would like to nominate someone or an organisation for the MFG Awards - and you can nominate your own organisation - here is what to do:
Send in your name, organisation, postal address, phone number and email address.
State the award you are nominating for.
Give the reasons for the nomination. We want to make the nomination process simple, so there is no need for a lengthy explanation, although any background documentation is always helpful. We suggest keeping your reasons quite short, within a page of A4 will suffice.
Getting your nominations to us
Email your nomination to the publisher Dan Miller at daniel.miller@metropolis.co.uk.
Post your nomination to Dan Miller, Publisher, Mortgage Finance Gazette, Metropolis Business Publishing, 6th Floor, Davis House,
The closing date for nominations is Thursday 17 September 2009
How the awards work
The judging panel will include journalists from the national press, industry experts, and the editors of What Mortgage and Mortgage Finance Gazette. Statistics will be provided by Defaqto. The judges’ decision is final. The December edition of Mortgage Finance Gazette will feature full coverage of the event and the winners.
For full details on available sponsorship opportunities, please contact the Publisher Dan Miller on 020 8253 4608 or email daniel.miller@metropolis.co.uk
Date: 10th, September, 2009
ADVICE TO READERS
While this website is checked for accuracy, we are not liable for any incorrect information included. We recommend that you make enquiries based on your own circumstances and, if necessary, take professional advice before entering into transactions.
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