Mortgage Brain celebrates successful first Criteria Masterclass

14 October 2021

UK, October 14 2021: The inaugural Criteria Masterclass, hosted by mortgage technology expert Mortgage Brain, was an enormous success with more than 500 mortgage brokers registering to take part last month.

The Masterclass was chaired by Grace Teager, product owner (Criteria Brain and Affordability Brain), and was held in association with The Mortgage Lender (TML) on 1st September. Speakers included Louise Apollonio and Richard Angell, national account managers at TML, with the session consisting of a 45-minute webinar exclusively for Criteria Brain users looking into the impact of the pandemic on the self-employed market in the UK.

Data from the event found that significant numbers of self-employed borrowers feel that their employment status may be damaging their financial prospects. Seven out of ten self-employed people reported feeling discriminated against when securing a mortgage, while 43% said they would consider going back to full-time employment post COVID-19.

The Masterclass delved into issues like the impact of the pandemic on self-employed income, the belief among the self-employed that it will become more difficult in future to access mortgage finance, and how brokers can assist these clients through their financial recovery.

Following the success of the inaugural Criteria Masterclass, a second event will be held exclusively for Criteria Brain users on 27th October 2021. This second Masterclass will focus on the topics of buy to let and holiday lets and is being run in association with Principality Building Society.

Neil Wyatt, sales and marketing director at Mortgage Brain, commented: “Self-employed workers make up a significant portion of workers in the UK, yet they often find the process of securing a mortgage more complicated and difficult than their employed peers. Our first Criteria Masterclass shone a light on some of the issues faced by self-employed clients, as well as how brokers can assist them, and it was wonderful to see such a strong response from advisers.

“The success of this event demonstrates the strong appetite among brokers to engage with the big issues affecting the mortgage market currently, and we look forward to hosting further Masterclass sessions in the months ahead.”