The Intermediary – March 2026 - Flipbook - Page 87
T E C H N O L O GY
Opinion
AI will not replace
the mortgage
broker
M
ortgage advice
has never been a
simple numbers
game, and it
is becoming
even less so.
Technology is speeding up sourcing,
suitability checks and paperwork.
Clients are also more digitally
confident than ever, and lenders evermore competitive.
But for anyone advising complex
borrowers, especially in the highnet-worth (HNW) space, the idea
that artificial intelligence (AI)
will “disintermediate” the broker
misunderstands what clients are
actually buying. They are paying
for judgement, trust and execution
under uncertainty.
A story shared with me recently
captures that perfectly. A close friend
of a broker colleague had divorced,
rented for a period, and was now
buying alone. On paper, this was as
straightforward as cases come: small
mortgage, large deposit, two decades
in the NHS and stable employment.
Yet he “hasn’t got a clue about
mortgages” and wanted someone he
could speak to. In this case, within 30
minutes he had been sourced, advised
and actioned. Within three hours he
had an approval in principle (AIP).
Even with great consumer tech, it is
hard to beat that combination of speed
and reassurance.
AI will transform the tasks brokers
do, but it will not replace the value
brokers create. For me, there are three
reasons why.
Confidence is key
A mortgage is rarely a purely rational
purchase. It is emotional, identityladen and high-stakes. Clients may be
financially sophisticated, but that does
not mean they want to spend their
PETER IZARD
is head of business
development intermediary
mortgages at Investec
time becoming mortgage experts,
particularly when their circumstances
are changing through divorce,
relocation, a new business venture or
a liquidity event.
For high-net-worth individuals in
particular, time is a scarce resource.
Many can do the research themselves.
The question is whether dealing with a
mortgage is the best use of their short
days when they have businesses to
run, families to support, and decisions
to make across tax, investment and
estate planning.
That is why brokers sit in the same
trusted category as accountants and
lawyers. Clients rely on them to
interpret complexity, anticipate what
could go wrong, and keep momentum
when time maers and property
purchases need to be secured. I believe
that AI can provide information, but it
cannot give the comfort a broker can.
Complex affordability
In the mainstream market,
affordability can look like a formula.
In the high-net-worth market it is
oen a story that has to be understood
properly. Income may span multiple
streams, dividends, retained profits,
bonuses and overseas elements.
This is where brokers deliver value
that is difficult to automate end to end.
The work is not just about gathering
facts. It is about shaping a coherent
case, stress-testing it, and translating
it into lender language without
losing the nuance that makes the
case lendable.
AI can help here, and brokers
should welcome it. It can pre-populate
document checklists, summarise
financials, highlight gaps, and cut
down re-keying and chasing. But it
still takes a skilled adviser to decide
what maers, what to emphasise, how
to sequence the narrative, and which
trade-offs are acceptable. Rate versus
flexibility. Leverage versus liquidity.
A human approach
The fear that banks will
disintermediate brokers rests on a
big assumption: that a direct-to-bank
journey will always provide the best
fit, and that the client’s needs will
remain stable. But circumstances
change, priorities shi, and the “best
deal” on paper is not always the best
outcome for the client.
The more realistic shi is a new
dividing line within broking. Those
who use AI to remove low-value
work will have more time for clientfacing advice. Those who do not
will be weighed down by admin
and become less responsive, exactly
when responsiveness is becoming
a differentiator.
That maers now because
confidence is returning, and demand
is moving with it. Investec recently
ran a survey of nearly 100 mortgage
brokers, focused on the high-networth market. The results were clear:
96% of brokers expect their business to
grow over the next 12 months, up from
91% in 2025 and 81% in 2024.
This is the environment where
brokers who combine high-touch
advice with high-speed execution
win. AI is a powerful tool to help
deliver that, but it cannot substitute
the relationship, judgement and
accountability that clients value
when decisions are complex and time
is short. ●
March 2026 | The Intermediary
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