INTERVIEW
HALIFAX
Brokers play key role in sharing Halifax’s green message The relationship between Halifax Intermediaries and the broker community is pivotal in highlighting its green initiatives, Amanda Bryden tells Simon Meadows
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manda Bryden, head of Halifax Intermediaries & Scottish Widows Bank, believes the lender can lead the green agenda, boosted by the support of the broker community. Bryden has endorsed the importance of good relationships with brokers in developing Halifax’s green programme and truly connecting with homeowners. “This is essential,” she explained. “We start from a very good point, but without these relationships our task would be so much more difficult. If we all work together on this, the results will be much better. The fact that we have great relationships with clubs and networks also means we can take a more strategic approach to coordinating education and communications.” The broker community, Bryden believes, also has a real opportunity to engage with borrowers by including discussion of sustainability in its mortgage advice. Brokers are already on board. “We have some early adopters who actively seek to understand how they can make sustainability part of their client conversations,” she said. “We also have some who are at the beginning or who have yet to start their journey to understanding this area. There is a real opportunity for brokers to reinforce the value of great mortgage advice and bolster this by demonstrating their understanding of the sustainable
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GREEN MORTGAGES NOVEMBER 2022
homes challenges and what it means for homeowners, be that addressing immediate desires for a greener home or understanding how to fund retrofitting to future-proof their homes’ value. That is where we, as lenders, have a key role in increasing this engagement.”
hosting a housing forum, attended by stakeholders from right across the housing and mortgage ecosystem, where we discussed how we can work together on key challenges including how to take forward the sustainability challenge.”
“With our excellent relationships across the market and with policy makers, we are uniquely placed to lead the green agenda”
Halifax Intermediaries prides itself on a range of innovations such as its home energy saving tool (HEST), which can be used by brokers to easily initiate discussions with clients about sustainability, encouraging them to consider green home improvements to improve their property’s Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating. The tool will also provide an estimated EPC rating and calculate CO2 emissions, as well as giving the indicative costs of work to be undertaken. “We thought carefully about the challenge of changing homeowner behaviour on sustainability and very early on realised that people need help to understand the practical side of what to do to their homes,” said Bryden. “As a bank we do not give advice on specifics of what improvements are suitable, as we leave this to the experts, but we have teamed up with Energy Saving Trust, an independent organisation whose focus is on addressing the climate emergency, and created a positive working partnership to help with our knowledge. It provides an impartial view, helping customers get the answers
PRIDE IN GREEN
As widespread discussion of green issues and energy bills gains traction in all quarters of society, from the House of Commons to the business world and in homes across the UK, Halifax Intermediaries is keen to fully showcase the value of its green initiatives and products. “We want to take a leading role in helping create more consumer demand for sustainable homes and support the market in increasing the supply of and understanding the benefits of sustainable housing,” Bryden enthused. “With our excellent relationships across the market and with policy makers, we are uniquely placed to lead the green agenda. For example, we recently joined colleagues across our intermediary channel in
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