The Intermediary – October 2026 - Flipbook - Page 20
In Profile.
Q&A
Jessica Bird speaks with Katie Broome, product manager at
Marsden Building Society, about the changing landscape of
expat lending, and why individual underwriting is key
K
atie Broome has spent nearly
12 years at Marsden Building
Society, including branch
management, business
development and product
management – the latter of which she moved
into during Covid-19, followed by a significant
expansion of her responsibilities.
With a role now covering product development,
new business opportunities, broker relationship
and service, Broome is uniquely positioned to
understand that lending must evolve alongside
borrowers, without abandoning individual
assessment or responsible risk management.
As expat and later life borrowers increasingly
defy traditional lending categories, the Marsden
is reviewing its criteria and strengthening broker
relationships to ensure that financially sound
applicants are not being excluded.
The Intermediary spoke with Broome to find out
not just what has changed, but how the society is
balancing flexibility and responsible lending, why
individual underwriting is key, and how changing
demographics and geopolitical conditions are
taking their toll.
The human factor
The Marsden has operated in the expat market for
more than a decade, and is therefore aware that
‘straightforward’ cases in this sector are rare.
“Every case has its own complexities,
whether it’s the country they’re living in, the
currency they’re paid in, the structure of their
income, or where their deposit’s coming from,”
Broome explains. “When we were looking at the
[applications] that we were saying no to, we found
we were causing unnecessary friction, where
actually the clients were in a financially strong
position, but we weren’t being able to proceed
based on our criteria points.”
Following this assessment, the Marsden made
moves to address the difference between this
“unnecessary friction” and genuinely unacceptable
risks. Changes include reducing minimum income
requirements, streamlining packaging, and
simplifying country criteria. The aim is not to
reduce checks and balances, but to avoid rejecting
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The Intermediary | October 2026
high quality business outright, allowing these
cases to progress to common-sense appraisal.
Broome says: “The vast majority of expats that
we see tend to have strong incomes, established
careers, substantial assets, yet they are restricted
by criteria. There are ways in which we can provide
greater flexibility around things like the currencies
they’re paid in, income structures, nationality, visa
requirements, country specific risks.
“It’s about assessing the creditworthiness of the
borrower, managing your own internal risk and
then making a judgment call.”
Most important, Broome says, is to recognise
that expat borrowers are not a monolith. She
compares, for example, someone working for
a multinational company in Singapore, versus
another who operates their own business in a
more complex jurisdiction.
Profiles have changed substantially over
time, too. Earlier in the Marsden’s history, expat
enquiries tended to involve UK nationals employed
overseas on straightforward full-time salaries.
Today, applicants include consultants, fixed-term
contractors, day-rate workers, seafarers, and
more. Even traditionally employed borrowers may
receive bonuses, commission or allowances.
“Mortgage criteria must evolve to reflect the
reality of the normal workforce,” Broome says.
“Rather than looking solely at how the income is
earned, it’s about understanding the sustainability
and resilience of that income.”
The changes to the Marsden’s criteria are not a
one-off exercise, but an ongoing evolution of its
lending appetite. This is driven as much by broker
input as it is internal preferences. This reliance
on relationships and feedback is testament to
the society’s human-led approach, which also
underpins its underwriting.
This means striking a balance between
operational efficiency and nuanced lending
decisions, Broome says: “As an example, our
[agreement in principle (AIP)] is a document that a
broker has to complete and submit, where others
might have them going onto a portal, putting
all the information in and getting an automated
decision, and certificates then and there. We don’t
offer that at present, however [full automation]
