Tesco plans to secure a piece of the mortgage market

February 26, 2015 by Brendan O'Neill

Lenders

The banking arm of supermarket giant Tesco is planning to jump with both feet into the home loan business, by providing using independent brokers in 2016, with a goal of increasing its market share.

In the two and a half years that it has already been selling mortgages directly to customers, it has issued over £1 billion. Mortgage brokers are responsible for a large portion of approved home loans every year.

Tesco Banks’ chief executive, Benny Higgins, said that the organisation will gain the opportunity to considerably increase its share of the mortgage market by selling products through intermediaries.

With 7.3 million customers across bank accounts, credit cards, savings and insurance, but without the support of an extended branch network, it has been limited in its securing of direct mortgage sales.

The chief executive also confirmed that Tesco Bank currently holds less than 10 per cent of the market, and added that it is looking at what infrastructure would need to be implemented to facilitate selling through intermediaries, with a plan to launch in early 2016.

Working in the mortgage industry, it is a regulatory requirement that you complete your CeMAP training and pass the final exam before you are able to make mortgage recommendations. You will learn how to complete a full and thorough affordability check, and how to fully assess your customers’ needs and then make an open and transparent recommendation. The products that you are able to recommend will be determined by your employer, unless you are a broker with the ability to advise on a wider panel of lenders.