Over three quarters (76%) of brokers have said that the level of notice a lender gives them regarding a product withdrawal would impact whether they consider using them again, Castle Trust Bank has found.

As part of the bank’s ongoing pulse surveys, it found that 60% of brokers said they would be less willing to use a lender if they thought the notice period provided was unreasonable.

A further 16% said that product withdrawals would always impact on their consideration.

However, nearly two-thirds of brokers said they were sympathetic to lenders needing to reprice their offerings at short notice.

The survey found that 29% said 48 hours is an acceptable amount of time for a lender to provide for the submission of a full product where they have already received a positive decision in principle.

A further 24% of brokers said they thought five working days was an acceptable period of notice.

When asked about the main challenges around short notice on product withdrawals, 60% of brokers said that managing their clients’ expectations was the hardest part. A further 55% said taking time to go back and research the market for alternative products for their clients’ circumstances was also challenging.

During the research, one broker said: “The worst feature of today’s market is uncertainty. No one is sure what’s going to happen next and when.”

Another said that short notice product withdrawals meant hours of work outside of normal business hours, which had an impact on their family.

Commercial director at Castle Trust Bank, Anna Lewis, said: “The Castle Trust Pulse survey provides a snapshot of the trends and challenges brokers are currently experiencing in the market, and short notice product withdrawals have certainly been a key challenge in recent months.

“However, our research found that brokers are, on the whole, sympathetic to lenders in this situation – they just want a reasonable amount of notice to enable them to better serve their clients. And most brokers would reconsider using a lender if they think it hasn’t provided enough notice in the past.

“The study highlights the importance of certainty, particularly in an uncertain environment and serves as a reminder of the critical role of communication for brokers and lenders to work together for the ultimate benefit of the customer.”

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