key points
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted previously unaddressed issues in the mortgage landscape and put pressure on lenders to quickly update their systems to meet the challenge.
More recently, in response to interest rate uncertainty we’ve seen record amounts of mortgage products being removed from the market in the UK, more than during the pandemic. Digital transformation is no longer a ‘nice to have’, but a necessity to better respond to changes in demand and adapt to an evolving market. With many lenders now looking to, or having already started to, digitally transform their lending operations, it’s time to discuss the ways in which they can de-risk the re-platforming process.
“The current climate proves once again why lenders need to ensure they have built in agility across core technology stacks to facilitate rapid responses to market changes,” said Will Stevns, Partner, Customer Led Transformation in Banking, PwC.
“Above all, the need to provide flawless and engaging customer experiences is still very much #1 on lenders’ to-do list.”
As your financial institution embarks on a digital transformation journey, it’s critical to understand and address the challenges at hand.
3 Challenges Lenders Are Facing Today:
How to transition from a legacy technology estate
How to ensure that BAU is maintained during the transition process
How to take their people with them on this journey
Now for the good news—today’s technology is capable of transforming the entire business to combat these challenges, preparing lenders for obstacles they may face in the future, as the market undoubtably continues to evolve.
However, financial institutions shouldn’t focus solely on automating their current processes, but on transforming their entire business. They can leverage this as an opportunity to transform their policies and processes as well, versus simply rebuilding their platforms and automating existing inefficiencies.
“The transformation programs that have done really well and have really resonated is when that program has a really clear vision for the future that represents both business and technology sides of the house,” said Thomas Chaplin, Head of UK Mortgage Product, nCino. “They’re able to state where they want to get to and how technology plays a role in getting there in the journey.”
When re-platforming, it’s important to first establish strong governance programs to enable transparent and prompt decision making. Establishing key decision makers with authority on technology and across the business is also key.
“Implementation is one of the most important pieces of the change agenda .... Ultimately, a project isn’t going to meet its success metrics unless there are advocates of change...” said Chaplin.
New platforms tend to be a once in a generation program, so highly active ownership from current and future leaders will be extremely valuable in the platform’s long-term success. Today’s cloud native systems provide a flexible, configurable solution with speedy delivery, and they’re more successful when your governance and decision making can move just as quickly.
To learn more about how you can make the most of your digital transformation, download the on-demand webinar now.
