Know Your BDM: Amy Donnelly, Atom Bank

This week, Mortgage Solutions is talking to Amy Donnelly, business development manager (BDM) for Atom Bank.

Which locations and how many advisers and broker firms do you cover in your role at Atom Bank?

I look after Scotland and Northern Ireland, which covers 1,092 brokers. I love the area I look after and always receive a warm welcome from my brokers. Our lovely office-based BDM Richard Cantwell also covers the area with me.

What personal talent/skill is most valuable in doing your job?

Because I cover such a wide range of brokers in my area, it’s crucial to be able to understand the individual needs of each business and where I can support them. The fact I used to work as a broker myself means I have a great insight into the daily challenges brokers face, and how BDMs can help address them. Building strong relationships is absolutely key in this job, to ensure that brokers know they are well-supported.

What personal talent/skill would you most like to improve on?

I would love to improve my ability to play the piano. I am pretty awful at it, but enjoy hearing my children playing and my mum is an amazing pianist. Somehow that talent seems to have bypassed me.

Market Moves

What is the hardest part of your job?

I think there are not enough hours in the day to achieve everything I would like to do. I only took over the region eight months ago, so there are still brokers I would like to meet and areas I would like to develop further.

What do you love most about your job?

I love the variety of people that I get to meet as a BDM, as well as the incredible support I receive from our team.

Every day brings new interactions and experiences, and I love building strong and supportive relationships with the brokers in my patch. That mix of meeting new brokers, working closely with those I have already got a relationship with and, of course, supporting their clients in achieving their borrowing ambitions is incredibly rewarding. And the fact that I get to work alongside such a motivated, positive and supportive team is the icing on the cake.

What is the best piece of career-related advice you’ve ever been given? Who gave it to you?

My lovely Dad always used to say: “Fail to prepare and prepare to fail”. I think this is so true in all areas of life, not just work. I like to have the mindset of being self-employed and taking responsibility to get things done in looking after my region. I think personal drive and sense of responsibility are so important.

How do you keep up to date with developments in the market?

There are so many ways that make this easy now, such as online articles and networking events, but the most important information often comes from my conversations with our brokers.

At the moment, it’s also important to keep up to date with government announcements and how this may affect the market.

What is the most quirky/unique property deal you’ve been involved in?

It was a lovely self-built property that was being remortgaged to Atom Bank. It was valued at over £1m and had some beautiful unusual features. It could definitely have been featured on Grand Designs.

Tell us about your trickiest case – what happened and how did you resolve the problem(s)?

We had a case where the broker had originally tried to place it with a sub prime lender. Eight weeks on, and the lender in question had still not produced an offer.

With the deadline looming, the broker approached me to talk through the case, and it fitted within our Near Prime criteria. We were able to offer the case within just one day; a brilliant result for the broker and client, who were both absolutely delighted.

What was your motivation for choosing this career?

I got into the financial services industry at a young age, starting with a branch role for around 10 years. It was during that time that I discovered my passion for mortgages. I then went on to work as a BDM with another lender for another 10 years. After I came back to work after having my children, I worked as a broker for five years, which I loved but I missed the business development role.

I am delighted to now be working with Atom and I believe that, having been a broker, it has given me a better understanding of the support that brokers need.