Overall satisfaction hits highest level over the past five years
Mortgage brokers rated UK lenders more favourably in the first half of 2025, with overall satisfaction rising to the highest level since 2020, according to the latest Mortgage Lender Benchmark from Smart Money People.
The report, which surveys mortgage brokers across the country, found that the overall satisfaction score rose to 4.22 out of 5 – a 0.05-point increase from the previous poll.
“It’s extremely encouraging to see that overall satisfaction across the industry remains high, which is undoubtedly great news for brokers and borrowers alike,” said Jake Sandford, head of data and analytics at Smart Money People.
Now in its 14th edition, the bi-annual research project draws insights from 1,111 brokers from 600 firms, who reviewed 134 lenders. These lenders represent 98% of gross mortgage lending in the UK.
This year’s update introduced the Broker Experience Index – a new metric designed to reflect the full broker journey. It evaluates service elements such as turnaround times, digital functionality, and broker support. The overall index debuted at 70.6, with building societies achieving the highest score of 71.5. Mainstream lenders followed closely at 71.4.
“To reflect the importance of the wider broker journey across multiple touch points when working with lenders, our new Broker Experience Index provides revealing insights on the individual elements of the journey – and shows which lenders are managing to join everything up to provide the best broker experience,” Sandford said.
The Mortgage Lender Benchmark also showed a five-point rise in the average Net Promoter Score (NPS), which reached +40.9, indicating improving broker loyalty and satisfaction.
Halifax was rated as the top mainstream lender by brokers. Principality Building Society maintained its position as the leading lender in the building society category, while Canada Life led among later life lenders.
Pepper Money held its top ranking in the specialist lending space. BM Solutions took over as the top buy-to-let lender, while Allica Bank and LendInvest were recognised as the best bridging/commercial and digital-first lenders, respectively.
Smart Money People said the latest enhancements to the benchmark were guided by direct feedback from lenders and brokers, aiming to deliver more comprehensive market analysis.
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