The Intermediary –- June 2026 - Flipbook - Page 16
In Profile.
NatWest
Marvin Onumonu speaks with Nadine Edwards,
head of intermediary distribution at NatWest,
about opportunities and risks in a market defined by
affordability pressures and rising complexity
W
ith over 16 years’ experience
in financial services, Nadine
Edwards, head of intermediary distribution at NatWest,
has seen several cycles of
change in the UK housing market. Today, her remit
is clear: make the bank easier to work with for brokers, and ensure the intermediary channel remains
central to how NatWest serves its customers.
“Brokers fundamentally sit right at the centre
of our strategy into 2026 and beyond,” she says.
“In what is a particularly complex marketplace,
especially in the UK, we don’t see intermediaries as
just a route to market. They’re a crucial part of how
we deliver the right and good customer outcomes.”
That theme runs through NatWest’s investment
decisions. The bank has been steadily investing
into the mortgage intermediary experience:
proposition design, service standards,
communications and tools that help brokers place
and manage cases with greater confidence.
Edwards frames this as both a business
imperative and a customer one. Affordability is
stretched. Customer journeys can feel fragmented.
Advice is still key. Against that backdrop, the
broker is often the only source of stability.
She explains: “In a market where the customer
journey can feel very fragmented and, at times,
quite broken, the broker is the one constant
for people when they’re looking at their
product journey. If we want to grow in a way
that is sustainable and customer-focused, the
intermediary channel has to remain one of our
strategic priorities.”
More than a mortgage
In recent years, NatWest has talked about its
ambition to deliver “more than a mortgage.”
Edwards stresses that this is not just a marketing
slogan, but a way of thinking about the bank’s
responsibilities in what is often one of the most
significant financial decisions of a customer’s life.
“A mortgage is never just a product,” she says.
“For customers, it’s their future, their home, their
family home. For brokers, it’s their reputation and
their business. It’s never just a transaction – there
are people involved, and it is a life moment.”
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The Intermediary | June 2026
From that perspective, the bank’s role cannot be
reduced to simply offering a competitive rate or
issuing an approval. The challenge is to make the
journey from initial enquiry through to completion
as clear, manageable and achievable as possible.
Edwards distils this into three core principles that
underpin the ‘more than mortgage’ mindset.
First is broader routes into homeownership.
Traditional pathways to buying do not fit every
customer anymore, and Edwards argues that
lenders must reflect that diversity of need. The
bank is particularly focused on first-time buyers
(FTBs) and those for whom standard models of
income, deposit or family structure do not apply.
Second is better access to answers and
support. Speed is welcome, Edwards says, but
speed without clarity is not enough in a market
where cases are often complex and customers
understandably anxious.
She notes: “Giving speed is great, but adding
clarity to it is enormous. Especially when you’re
thinking about a purchase application that is
actually going through the process.”
Third is equipping brokers with practical
knowledge and tools so they can stay ahead in
a fast-moving market. Products change, criteria
evolve and economic signals shift quickly. For
Edwards, NatWest’s job is to give advisers the
confidence and information they need to provide
the right advice, at the right time.
“‘More than a mortgage’ is not about doing
something abstract,” she says. “It’s about
recognising the role we play in that transaction,
from the product to the process to the confidence
needed to see it through. Our job is to make that
journey easier, clearer and more achievable.”
Technology that supports
As intermediary businesses have modernised
and hybrid working has become the norm,
lenders have been forced to rethink how they
engage with brokers day to day. Technology and
communication channels are central to that shift,
but only if they are designed around how advisers
actually work.
“It’s really important for us that technology and
communication channels enhance and support
