Editor's note: This brief was summarised by The Property AI Newsroom from a report by Mortgage Solutions. Read the original article for full details.

Halifax Named Top Mainstream Lender for Broker Experience in 2026

Halifax has been named the best mainstream mortgage lender for broker experience by intermediaries, according to the Smart Money People H1 2026 Mortgage Lender Benchmark. Nationwide was recognised as the leading building society for broker experience in the same survey.

The benchmark, which measures broker satisfaction with mortgage lenders, reported an overall score of 4.22 out of five for broker experience, a slight decrease of 0.03 from the previous half-year. The survey gathered feedback from 980 brokers across 510 firms, covering 126 lenders and representing 98.1% of UK gross mortgage lending.

Other lenders maintained their top positions in specific categories. Pure Retirement was again named the best later life lender, Pepper Money held its place as the top specialist lender, BM Solutions remained the best buy-to-let (BTL) specialist, Allica Bank was recognised as the leading bridging and commercial lender, and Atom Bank was rated the best digital-first lender.

Building societies received a score of 73.6 in the Broker Experience Index, overtaking mainstream lenders, who scored 70.8. The Broker Experience Index evaluates metrics such as service, speed, digital tools, and support. The overall lender score was 70.2, slightly down from 71 in the previous period. The average net promoter score (NPS) for all lenders was +40.9, a decrease of 0.4 points from the last survey.

For letting agents and inventory clerks, these results highlight the current landscape of lender performance and broker satisfaction, which can impact the speed and reliability of mortgage transactions in the UK property market.