Majority of homeowners believe new lenders can 'break dominance' of big six

They believe new lenders such as Tesco, Virgin Money and M&S, as well as other new entrants, can help break the dominance of the big six lenders and provide more creative approaches to mortgage lending, the study shows.

Castle Trust’s research shows homeowners are looking to building societies and new entrants to lead the way in offering innovative mortgage products. Two-thirds (67%) of mortgage holders believe new entrants will focus on customer needs with just 14% expecting the same from traditional lenders.

Levels of trust are highest for building societies - more than half (51%) of people say they trust mutuals most to offer innovative mortgage solutions. This rises to 58% for those aged 45 and over.

The higher level of trust is translating into market share - building societies now account for 22% of the gross mortgage lending market - nearly double their pre-financial crisis level - and are dominating the mortgage best buy tables, offering 83% of the most competitive deals currently on the market.

The findings also reveal that two in five (40%) people in the key house buying age group of 25 – 44 would welcome the opportunity to sign up to an equity loan. Indeed more than half (56%) of mortgage customers would like to see their existing mortgage lender offer equity loans alongside their traditional mortgage offerings.

Sean Oldfield, chief executive officer, Castle Trust said:

“Increased competition in the mortgage market is clearly welcome and new lenders and building societies have a major role to play.

“The mortgage market needs greater innovation and a wider selection of products than those currently on offer. The legacy issues faced by many of the Big Six lenders have led borrowers to believe this innovation is more likely to come from new entrants, but it is an issue that needs to be addressed by the entire mortgage market.”