Sesame Bankhall is developing a tech-based mortgage solution to help advisers deliver a more seamless service to the end consumer, John Cowan has revealed.
The executive chairman of Sesame Bankhall Group confirmed the group was planning to develop a mortgage service that would reduce the time it takes advisers to complete a mortgage application.
He said there was a lot of work going on between the lenders and advisers in the mortgage market currently, making it a "fascinating marketplace".
In a video interview with Emma Ann Hughes, editor of Financial Adviser and FTAdviser, Mr Cowan said: "We have to help the advisory community deliver a better experience for the customers.
"It is very much a cottage industry at the moment. Digital technology is changing this marketplace, and we are working closely with a whole lot of tech companies, as well as Aviva and lenders, to deliver a seamless service to the end customer."
He said this service should be in place next year but said it would not simply be "robo-advice".
He said: "What I am interested in is helping advisers to help customers. I believe what we have to do is deliver technology, linked to lenders and linked to the customers, to deliver the whole piece and create a seamless transaction.
"It takes several hours to complete a mortgage at the moment and it should be much quicker. [This service] should release advice capacity so the adviser can do the proper job for someone taking on a mortgage, which is to give them advice and talk to them and putting protection in place, rather than double-clicking all the time."
He said currently in completing a mortgage, it takes "hundreds and hundreds and hundreds" of double-clicks, and this simply would not do.
Mr Cowan also said parent company Aviva was helping Sesame Bankhall in a "whole range of ways".
He said: "Aviva didn't strategically purchase us; we were acquired through Aviva buying Friends Life and the relationship is strong. They are very supportive of us.
"We are not vertically integrated. We haven't been bought for particular goals but they are helping us strategically in a whole range of different ways to think about how to take the business forward. That is really the key for me."
In July, Sesame Bankhall Group announced its combined protection annual premium income through PMS Mortgage Club and Sesame Network rose by 22 per cent in the first six months of 2018 to £35.8m, compared £29.4m API in the same period last year.
simoney.kyriakou@ft.com
