This week, Mortgage Solutions is speaking to Wendy Scott, senior business development manager (BDM) at Butterfield Mortgages.
Which locations and how many advisers and broker firms do you cover in your role at Butterfield Mortgages?
At Butterfield Mortgages, we are willing to speak with any adviser or firm with high-net-worth (HNW) clients with lending requirements for properties in Prime Central London (PCL) and the home counties. While we currently have approximately 90 intermediary firms or networks on board, and continue to onboard those with new applications, we work with many other introducers and individuals on a referral-only basis.
What personal talent/skill is most valuable in doing your job?
As much of my job involves direct interaction, the ability to listen, understand, and anticipate the needs of our partners and clients is paramount. We need to ensure that we get the right information to confirm that we can proceed with an application. In turn, we need to represent prospective clients as well as possible to our credit committees and drive the process to get the best outcomes.
What personal talent/skill would you most like to improve on?
I personally have to work very hard on delegating as it’s my default to try to take on everything! I am very lucky to be surrounded by a great team to assist our clients with their journey, so in the interests of keeping all the relevant ‘plates spinning’, it’s imperative that we all work together.
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What’s the hardest part of your job?
Not being able to assist everyone. However, it’s important to be able to gather all the necessary information in a timely manner so that you can give a decision as quickly as possible – we are so frequently advised of the importance of a ‘quick no’ by our intermediary partners. I’m also always mindful of other solutions that clients may be able to find elsewhere if we can’t help.
What do you love most about your job?
I love how flexible and solution-oriented we are at Butterfield Mortgages. With the expert assistance of our credit and risk committees, we can move efficiently and effectively to produce common-sense decisions that help those with few or limited lending options find a solution that works for them.
What’s the best bit of career-related advice you’ve ever been given? Who gave it to you?
Charles Morley, the director of mortgage distribution at Metro Bank, told me that I should become a BDM when I was a mortgage adviser – that’s certainly proved to be a good decision.
Taking a step back from providing advice and moving into a business development role allowed me to utilise the knowledge I had gained as a mortgage adviser and combine that with my strong people and communication skills; I love making and maintaining connections with intermediaries to ensure we stay at the forefront of their minds and finding solutions to assist their clients.
How do you keep up to date with developments in the market?
I always keep an eye on Mortgage Solutions and other trade press and research our competitors, but the best source of information for a specialist lender like Butterfield Mortgages has to be regular interaction with our intermediary partners, which includes asking them for frequent feedback.
Tell us about your trickiest case – what happened and how did you resolve the problem(s)?
There are many, so it’s impossible to cite just one. However, I would say that my more complicated cases have involved complex structures with multiple layers (trusts, offshore companies, etc.), international sources of wealth, and income challenges (sometimes all of the above). We have managed to complete these transactions through clear communication with our intermediaries and clients, gathering the information needed to support these cases, especially where enhanced due diligence is required. Additionally, we have an ability to consider business cases on their individual merits and think creatively regarding structuring solutions
Butterfield Mortgages is backed by an international network, a leading offshore bank and trust company delivering financial solutions and expertise around the globe; this network uniquely positions us to assist with complicated international cases and is invaluable to our business.
What was your motivation for choosing this career?
I’m naturally a ‘people person’, so using my skills to help customers achieve their goals has always appealed to me. From the earlier days of my mortgage advice career, when I often assisted first-time buyers with no knowledge of the property purchase process, to the more complex scenarios that my team and I work on today, I have always enjoyed helping others.
If you could do any other job in the property sector, what would it be and why?
An architect. I’ve been fortunate enough to see some properties completed to incredibly high specifications, often at different stages of the process. It must be so rewarding to plan these transformations from the inception of a project and then see it take shape, although I can imagine it is challenging at times too.
What did you want to be growing up?
When I was in school, I was very interested in pursuing law as a career. All the courtroom dramas I watched on TV may have contributed to that.
If you could have one superpower, what would it be?
Teleportation, as it would enable me to get the most out of my time, both professionally and personally.
What is your strategy for tackling challenges?
Organisation, and keeping calm. Breaking things down into smaller chunks often really helps. I’m a big fan of a good old-fashioned to-do list.
What is your greatest skill(s), either work- or non-work-related?
My work ethic. I also cook a mean roast dinner – it’s all about the potatoes and gravy.
