CMP caught up with ING Direct's vice-president, lending, sales, George Hugh, as he looks back at what carried the lender through the tough financial year, and what's going to propel them forward.
CMP: Looking back over the last 12 months, what have been some of the highs and lows specific to the mortgage industry?
The last 12 months provided a challenging environment for both lenders and mortgage brokers due to economic turmoil, such as the subprime issues, global banking crisis, unemployment concerns and decreasing consumer confidence. In Canada the impact resulted in liquidity concerns, credit tightening and the virtual halting of mortgage production in January and February earlier this year. ING Direct used this time to review our processes and strategies to ensure that it aligned with improving and growing our broker market share. Also, we reached out to our partners to remind them that we are committed to the broker channel and that it's a core part of ING's long-term growth plans. It was very important for us to show our valued brokers that they were viewed as an extension of our sales force, and that we are committed to developing that partnership.
CMP: What specific things did your organization do this year that you are proud of?
Over the last 12 months we've committed to improving service levels to our partners; simplified the lending process by streamlining lending guidelines; made several service improvements like having a consistent SLA and improved accessibility to our underwriters by extending hours of operation; communicated changes within the channel; and through our regional sales managers, we've improved our understanding of brokers' needs. We've also increased our sales force, implemented an automated valuation model resulting in quicker appraisals for qualified properties, offered a rate hold program, which is the only one of its kind available in Canada, and implemented a rewards program for our broker partners called "orange plus." We did all this hoping to strengthen existing partnerships and give us the credibility to be able to attract new business.
CMP: As a lender what would you say is the key to success?
Our long-term vision is to become the No. 1 broker sales team in Canada. Creating and developing great business partnerships is key to achieving this goal. Mortgage brokers are our key partners but the need to build relationships goes beyond this and includes other key participants such as regulatory bodies, insurers, other lenders and media.
CMP: What is the benefit of having great partners?
For one, they understand our value proposition. They know our products, vision and challenges, and that makes them our experts to potential clients. It makes sense that we are also interested in understanding their vision and challenges so that we can help them grow as well. Our partners' value goes well beyond completing a deal. They are key to reaching out to untapped clients across Canada, growing our brand, increasing profitability and ensuring that asset performance is not compromised.
CMP: Where do you see ING Direct and the broker channel going in the future?
We always look for innovative opportunities in the market. Strategically aligning ourselves with new and existing partners continues to be a priority for ING Direct. It is through this alignment that we will be better able to achieve the efficiencies necessary for the channel as a whole to succeed.