AIB CASE STUDY - Allied Irish Banks (AIB) - AIB (Great Britain) Mortgages 

Background

Allied Irish Banks (AIB) was struggling to make any impact in the GB mortgage market, held back by legacy systems and an unclear service proposition.  VISION Consulting (VISION) was asked to undertake two projects in 2021 to address these problems and transform AIB’s position in the market. The first was to research and source a better software option for managing business introduced by brokers, while the second was to create a proposition that would excite them.

Challenges & Opportunities 

VISION have a lot of experience working in the broker market and knew that one of the main challenges would be institutional distrust between those who are selling, those who are underwriting, and those in governance. The opportunity lay in involving a wide range of stakeholders in both stages of the project to build that trust alongside awareness of the new service and proposition offerings.

CONTRACT MANAGEMENT

VISION APPROACH

VISION used our proprietary Commitment-based Management methodology, and in-depth qualitive interviewing techniques, to identify opportunities and bring tangible value to AIB.

VISION provided the following:

• Analysis and comparison of mortgage origination technology platforms in the UK with the aim of providing a fast, seamless, and user-friendly, end-to-end mortgage process for brokers and end customers.

• In-depth qualitative interviews with brokers, subject matter experts, and platform providers to identify the market opportunity for expansion.

• Identification and development of a powerful broker service proposition that would deliver significant additional mortgage sales.

• Review of internal policies, current and proposed lean operations, and coordination practices, and to make recommendations for improving efficiencies and service provided to this business channel.

• Mobilisation of improvements in coordination between brokers, the decision making, and support teams to ensure that both the operational efficiencies and service promises would be delivered.

SERVICE DELIVERY

VISION carried this work out over two phases in 2021 – here are some of the key elements:

Phase One: A new software platform

• Week One: Project set-up, interview scheduling and research.

• Week Two: Interviews held with digital platform providers, mortgage experts and brokers; initial review of GB broker market; creation of selection framework.

• Week Three: Remaining interviews, review of current EBS/Haven solution, high-level review of AIB implementation plan and market strategy.

• Week Four: Review ICT ‘must haves’; practical assessment of preferred provider and preparation of recommendations. AIB decided to choose a platform called Molo.

Phase Two: A new service proposition

• Week One: Review AIB materials in depth, recruit at least five brokers and create project plan.

• Week Two: Prepare workshop plan, recruit additional four to five brokers and desktop research on GB competitors.

• Week Three: Hold ‘Broker Insights’ workshop and put together accompanying paper; commence interviews with stakeholders (ICT, Molo, Lean, Insights, Credit, Mortgage Terms, Customer Service, Underwriters).

• Week Four: Workshop on ‘Evidence Gathering and Confirmation of Decision through to Issue of Contract’, continued interviews, mobilization of initiatives.

• Week Five: Final report, presentation and recommendations for a new service proposition to meet 2022 ambitions.

CONTRACT PERFORMANCE 

OUTCOMES

• VISION identified a market opportunity worth €2bn of mortgage sales per year, with few other lenders operating in the target market space.

• VISION identified breakdowns in current broker services that were causing reputational damage to AIB, and recommended ways of resolving them.

• VISION proposed a simple and efficient technology solution that was low-cost and could be developed within 10 weeks to resolve the complications the client was facing.

• VISION introduced coordination practices that improved the trust and relationships between brokers, underwriters, and credit teams.