From speaking up about business, to highlighting the importance of diversity and inclusion, he's learned the value of expressing yourself
He’s been working within financial services for nearly 12 years, working with some of the biggest brands in mortgages and some of the industry’s leading figures, but for Jeffrey Krampah-Williams (pictured above), finding his voice and having the confidence to share his thoughts, has been one of the greatest hurdles he’s faced.
Krampah-Williams is national key account manager for Santander UK, and his career has seen him work with Nationwide Building Society and Virgin Money too. Beyond the responsibilities of his current role, he has become known as a change maker within the mortgage industry, championing diversity, equity and inclusion. All of this is no small feat for a man who readily admits that he has struggled to speak up.
“One of the biggest challenges I have faced is finding my voice,” Krampah-Williams told Mortgage Introducer as he considered his career so far. “I was always happy to work hard and do what needed to be done, but in the past, I often wouldn’t make a stand when I thought things could be done better. This is something I have worked on in recent years and, while I still have moments of doubt, I am certainly now a lot more vocal than I used to be. Working at a lender like Santander has helped me to find the confidence to be braver at speaking up, knowing that constructive ideas for how we can do things better are always going to be welcomed.”
After leaving the University of Hull in 2012, Krampah-Williams joined Nationwide Building Society, cutting his teeth as a personal banking manager, and turning around an underperforming branch so that it performed highly on a consistent basis. In little over a year, he became a mortgage consultant for Nationwide, and one of its top performing advisers, increasing business across a number of branches. Moving rapidly through its ranks, he became a deputy area manager and a business development manager, before making his next career move, after almost four-and-a-half years, to Virgin Money, where he took up a London-based BDM role and successfully increased the volume of mortgage business there.
A further move saw Krampah-Williams take his BDM skills to Santander in 2018, where he’s remained since. As a national account manager, he drives sales by working with c-suite clients and building strategic commercial B2B relationships, managing high value corporate partner accounts. “I would say working with some of the biggest names, both individuals and firms, in the industry has been invaluable,” he shared. “Moving around has enabled me to experience different cultures, business models and given me a rounded experience to base future decisions on. At the same time, staying put can also provide learning opportunities and I’ve continued to develop my skills during my seven years at Santander as the business transforms. Our trajectory under our head of homes, David Morris, is as to become an ambitious and bold lender – a change in direction which has forced me to scrutinise and think differently about my own work, and it has presented opportunities to continue to develop my own knowledge.”
He continued: “I think there are several lessons I have learned, but one that constantly sticks in my mind is to seek to be the best in your current role while having an eye on what skills you could develop that would help you in your next role. This is advice I have always followed and, so far, it hasn’t steered me wrong.”
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A strong voice within mortgage diversity and inclusion
Despite Krampah-Williams’ reticence in his early career to vocalise his thoughts, having found the confidence do so, he is using his voice for an important cause. He recently addressed the Black Mortgage Professionals & Allies Networking (BMPAN) event. So, how much of an issue does he believe that diversity and inclusion remains in the mortgage industry, and how much progress has he seen during his time in the sector? “I think, firstly, it’s important to acknowledge the work that has been done,” Krampah-Williams observed. “The type of discussions we are having today around DEI are conversations that were not happening as little as five years ago. We are seeing platforms such as BMPAN and a number of others, all finding ways to make the mortgage industry more inclusive.
“However, I feel there is still more to be done. I think we’d all agree that, just like improving the homeownership journey for our customers, there isn’t one single thing that can be done to move the dial on diversity and inclusion in the industry. There will need to be a combination of changes to make everyone feel as though they belong and can achieve their best. If I had to single something out, it would be looking at the leadership and representation in c-suite. I would like to see the industry and leadership become a representation of the wide range of customers that we serve.”
Clearly well-established within financial services, Krampah-Williams’ confidence in himself is only matched, it seems, by his confidence in the mortgage market currently. He feels ‘bullish’ – to use his term – about its outlook. “First-time buyers have been active in the market in the early part of the year and the market is expected to be about 11% up on 2024,” he said. “First-time buyers have been buoyed by falling mortgage rates and advances in affordability, driven by the clarification from the FCA, which we were pleased to react to - as the first lender to give buyers the opportunity to borrow more.
“More first-time buyers means more people looking for advice as they figure out how to navigate their mortgage and property purchase journeys. Alongside this, we are expecting around 30% more remortgages this year compared to 2024, and 13% more product transfers – with many seeking advice as rates continue to fluctuate. With a further two predicted base rate cuts this year, and regular changes affecting the global economy, the swaps market looks set to continue to shift throughout 2025.” He added: “Outside of advising on rates. I think there’s an opportunity within the market for those who can identify the protection needs of their customers.”
