Russell Anderson, customer retention and partnerships director, Paragon – Mortgage Strategy

Can you provide a brief overview of your career to date?

I’ve worked in banking since 2002 and in mortgages since 2007.

During that time I’ve worked at some of the larger retail banks, including Lloyds, Santander, RBS and Bank of Ireland, and now I’m really happy to be at Paragon.

I’ve worked in a number of positions, starting as a branch cashier, and this has given me a breadth of experience across customer-facing and management jobs.

What is the main premise of your role?

It’s about developing and executing Paragon’s retention strategy. A key part of this is building strong relationships with our intermediary partners, helping them to, in turn, build strong relationships with their landlord customers.

Although we’re competing against each other, it feels like healthy competition and we’re all trying to get the best outcome for our customers

These relationships, alongside contact strategies whereby brokers are in regular contact with their clients, help to provide us with a clear picture of a landlord’s business and future plans.

Knowing things such as when a landlord’s current mortgage is due to mature, and if they are planning to invest in the near future, means our intermediary partners can be proactive in retaining and securing business.

I head a team that is dedicated to supporting brokers to do this. I also help to shape our product proposition, working with our commercial team to ensure our products work for the customers we want to retain.

Our landlords are providing good-quality homes for tenants. There is an indirect social good

I still get involved with cases too because finding solutions is something I’ve always found rewarding, especially when I know I’ve helped someone grow their business and provide a tenant with a good-quality home.

What are your main ambitions in business this year?

Last financial year we retained eight in 10 customers, which we are really pleased about, but we want that to be 10 out of 10; that’s the ambition. To do that and continue with the momentum we’ve built, we’re evolving our retention strategy.

One of my bosses told me that, if I wanted to progress, I’d need to tackle the tasks I was avoiding first

At a more tactical level, we’re doing lots of work to improve the broker experience so it’s easier than ever for them to place business with us through our online portal and with the support of my team and our underwriters.

In your opinion, what is the biggest challenge currently faced by the mortgage market?

Although things have improved since last year, the political and economic instability has kept interest rates higher than many are used to. This poses a challenge for borrowers, brokers and lenders.

Like businesses in almost all industries, we’re trying to balance providing value to customers and being financially sustainable, but lenders face the challenge of constant changes to what we pay for our product, known as the swap rate. We have to be responsive to these changes to stay competitive and offer rates that borrowers can afford, while ensuring we protect our margins.

What is the best thing about the industry?

The best thing about the industry is how rewarding it is.

We’re finding solutions that help landlords — whom we see as SMEs — to reach their business goals. In turn, the landlords are providing good-quality homes for tenants who want or need to rent. There is an indirect social good.

A key part of my role is building strong relationships with our intermediary partners; helping them to, in turn, build strong relationships with their landlord customers

I also want to mention the sense of community. It feels like a very welcoming industry where you can go to events and award ceremonies and have a good catch-up with familiar faces. Although we’re competing against each other, it feels like healthy competition and we’re all trying to get the best outcome for our customers.

What’s the best advice you’ve received?

Although I’ve always had a good work ethic, I would often avoid or put off tasks if they weren’t things I was good at or enjoyed doing.

I still get involved with cases because finding solutions is something I’ve always found rewarding

One of my bosses told me that this would place a glass ceiling over my head and, if I wanted to progress, I’d need to work outside my comfort zone more and also tackle the tasks I was avoiding first. The idiom is, ‘Eating the frog first,’ so that’s stuck with me to this day!

If you didn’t work in the mortgage industry, what other career would interest you?

I’d like to have been a lawyer, but I messed about a bit at school and didn’t get the grades — one of my biggest regrets.

I’d also like to have done something fun on telly, such as be a game-show host or something like that.

This article featured in the July/August 2024 edition of Mortgage Strategy.

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