Financial services review site Smart Money People has released its H2 2024 Mortgage Lender Benchmark, showing an average lender rating of 83.4%.
The benchmark covered mortgage broker opinions on UK mortgage lenders for the second half of 2024.
The average lender rating was down by 0.3% on H1 2024, but still the joint second highest ever recorded.
Four sectors – bank, building societies, lifetime and over-£4bn lenders – saw an overall satisfaction level at over 90%.
Atom bank scored the highest across all categories at 94.2%.
This marked the 13th edition of the Mortgage Lender Benchmark, comprising 4,755 reviews on 116 lenders.
The average Net Promoter Score (NPS) for all lenders was down by 2.8 on the H1 2024 figure, at +35.9.
Atom bank topped the bank category with a score of 94.2%, for the third consecutive year.
Atom bank’s score of 94.2% from brokers was also the highest score achieved by any mortgage lender across the four sectors in the report – bank, building societies, lifetime and over-£4bn lenders – and above the average of 83.4%.
Principality Building Society was named the best building society lender, both retaining their status from H1 2024.
The best lifetime provider was Pure Retirement, and Pepper Money was recognised as the top specialist lender, both also retaining their H1 2024 positions.
A change to the top spot though was recorded in buy-to-let (BTL), as Landbay came out as top lender in this category.
Meanwhile, Lloyds Banking Group claimed top spot as the best £4bn-plus lender.
Jacqueline Dewey, CEO of Smart Money People, said: “Despite a very busy end to 2024 with rates gradually reducing, it’s encouraging to see that overall levels of satisfaction with lenders across all sectors has remained at historically high levels since we started our report over six years ago.
“In addition, special mentions to Atom bank, Pepper Money, Principality and Pure Retirement for their consistent service delivery across the whole year.
“Such high levels of satisfaction take significant investments in both resources and technology.
“So we should applaud not only their efforts, but that of the whole industry in maintaining service and satisfaction during such a difficult and uncertain period.”
Chris Storey, chief commercial officer at Atom bank, said: “To top this poll once is an extraordinary achievement, let alone to secure a hat-trick of wins.
“To not only be named the best bank, but to score the highest of all lenders, is testament to the hard work that has been done by everyone at Atom bank to get us to a position where our offering is industry leading.
“This study is the largest piece of independent research utilising broker feedback in the industry, and speaks volumes about the standing of Atom bank amongst the broker community.
“We have built a reputation for our often market leading speed to offer times, something brokers and our customers clearly value.
“Pair this with our flexible lending criteria, ongoing support for underserved areas of the market through our Near Prime offering and a fantastic level of service, and it’s no surprise that brokers continue to see us as the best bank out there.
“Our customers are seeing the fruits of our labours too, which is why we are now the UK’s top-rated bank on Trustpilot.
“But we don’t believe in standing still, and so will keep striving to find ways to deliver an even smoother, faster journey for our broker partners and their customers.”
