Smart Money People has released the results of its latest vulnerability disclosure survey, building on last year’s broker-focused research with Newcastle Building Society and, for the first time, including lenders’ perspectives.
The findings show that more than four in five brokers reported encountering vulnerable clients in 2025, a figure broadly consistent with 2024.
Despite this, over half of lenders said they had not received a single disclosure in the past 12 months, pointing to a disconnect between broker reporting and lender awareness.
Only 58.1% of brokers believe the industry has made progress in supporting vulnerable customers.
While the proportion of brokers disclosing “most” or “all” cases to lenders has risen compared with last year, almost a third still disclose none.
Nearly 600 brokers and lenders took part in the survey, with lender responses spanning business development, underwriting, compliance and operational roles.
Jess Trueman, head of business development at Smart Money People, said: “This year’s research shows a market moving in the right direction but still held back by structural and cultural barriers that prevent consistent vulnerability disclosure.
“Brokers are confident in their understanding of vulnerability and most encounter it regularly in their client base. Encouragingly, more brokers now say they disclose ‘most’ or ‘all’ cases to lenders compared with 2024. But almost a third still disclose none – a reminder that awareness does not always translate into action.
“Lenders report high confidence in their ability to act on disclosures but admit they receive them only rarely. More than half said they had not received a single disclosure in the past year, a stark contrast to brokers’ claims of increasing disclosure. This disconnect exposes weaknesses in the routes, systems, and consistency of communication between intermediaries and lenders.
“The overall conclusion is clear: the knowledge is there, the willingness is there, but the infrastructure to support consistent disclosure is still not fit for purpose.”
