Brokers benefit from faster, flexible and smarter service as Paragon Bank’s bespoke buy-to-let mortgage application platform goes market wide
05 March 2025
- AI and seamless data integration provides more certainty, transparency and speed
- Bespoke platform developed through close collaboration with brokers
- Intelligent digital application process delivers market-leading user experience
Paragon Bank is delivering a faster, smarter and more flexible application experience for brokers with the full market launch of its buy-to-let mortgage origination platform.
All brokers who place business with Paragon will now be able to use the lender’s new bespoke mortgages originations platform, benefitting from an intelligent, efficient and dynamic digital application process.
The full market launch follows a limited rollout, underway since January this year. During this time, Paragon has continued its approach of close collaboration with broker partners, using their feedback to further improve functionality.
Working with brokers, Paragon identified three core principles to focus on in order to improve the broker experience:
- Certainty: An intelligent and streamlined application process based on individual circumstances results in quicker Decisions in Principle and tailored application requirements
- Transparency: Brokers are kept informed on progress throughout the mortgage process
- Speed: Applications are processed more efficiently and where possible, access data at source, reducing application-to-offer time
These benefits are facilitated through innovative use of technology and collaboration with third party providers.
By being integrated with a number of data sources including Companies House, Experian and Hometrack, key information is gathered directly from source and automatically entered into application fields, saving time and reducing potential for errors. Utilising a dynamic user interface, application requirements are customised to each case. This means that the user is only required to complete fields that are applicable to the individual application and information requests are not duplicated.
Artificial Intelligence is used to complete previously manual tasks such as extracting, analysing and validating data. This enables Paragon’s mortgage underwriting team to spend more time supporting intermediaries to find solutions for their clients.
The validation of property schedules has also been improved and once uploaded documentation is stored securely to make future processing applications more efficient.
Over the past two years, Paragon developers have built the system in-house. Paragon opted for a bespoke platform over an off-the-shelf solution to ensure it provides functionality that was identified as most important during extensive engagement with brokers.
Louisa Sedgwick, Paragon Bank Managing Director of Mortgages, said:
“Today is a big day for Paragon because the market-wide launch of our new mortgage application platform represents a leap forward in our company’s digitalisation journey.
“It follows more than two years of behind-the-scenes work, but completely changes the application experience, so I’m confident that brokers will agree it’s worth the wait. The feedback of those who have already been using the system as part of our phased rollout has been fantastic, and we have taken on board that feedback to further enhance the offering.
“As well as Paragon colleagues who have put blood, sweat and tears into this project, I want to thank the brokers who have helped to shape the system, they’ve been absolutely crucial.”
Andrew Smart, Paragon’s Mortgages Strategic Transformation Manager, said:
“A phrase we’ve used a lot when talking about this project is ‘making life easier’ for brokers because, as simple as that sounds, that is what we’ve set out to do. The complex lending we specialise in can lead to a complex, multi-layered application process, which can be time-consuming for brokers.
“Working with brokers throughout the project, we’ve identified and addressed this, stripping back those layers. Identifying the different aspects of a gold standard mortgage application has helped us to hone in on what matters most to brokers, and the result is a platform that provides more certainty, transparency and speed.”
Commenting on his experience of using the system, David Tonks, Director at Advocate Finance, said:
“The whole process runs much more smoothly, and valuation reports are available to download as soon as received, saving time. It pulls limited company data through to the application, which also speeds things up, and uploading the document requirements is a much easier process.”
