In an exclusive interview with Bridging & Commercial, Marc revealed that for its mainstay brokers, it has around eight people who spend time in the brokers’ offices looking at and approving transactions.

“…We’ve always had roving underwriters, [but] we’ve now brought them together, [and we are] heavily training them to get out there and work more closely with the broker market.”

Marc felt that underwriters based in brokers’ offices was the way that the market was now headed.

He explained that a BDM does a fantastic job in helping and explaining, however, once they have left the office, the lender tends to be out of the broker’s mind.

“What we've found is that a lot of brokers hold on to cases until the roving underwriter comes in.

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“[They then say,] ‘Here you are, we've got these six cases for you. Could you have a look at them for us?’

“I think, hand-in-hand, a BDM and a roving underwriter play a key part.”

Marc stated that a roving underwriter — who might spend half a day in a broker’s office — has the role of helping a broker to understand the underwriting process and what’s required.

By contrast, the BDM is focused on talking about the lender’s criteria, what it’s currently offering, and where it’s headed.

He believed that feedback from a BDM about what’s happening in the marketplace and product opportunities was “critical”, and that they still played a vital role.

“The BDM and the roving underwriter, if they are working together, I think that plays a key part in the success.”