NatWest Intermediary Solutions is introducing a new Saturday opening for its broker instant messaging service as it expects advisers to be “extra busy over the next few weeks.”
LiveTalk will open on Saturdays from 9am to 1pm to provide additional support for the period during which the Mortgage Market Review changes are being introduced.
Launched four years ago, NatWest’s LiveTalk has become the primary broker channel for enquires to the lender about pre-submission client applications, the company said.
In response to broker demand, last July the weekday opening hours were extended by 45 minutes to 9am to 6pm. Over the last few weeks, NatWest has been working with some intermediary firms to trial a new Saturday service.
Sarah Taylor, service development manager of NatWest Intermediary Solutions, said: “With intermediaries expected to be extra busy over the next few weeks dealing with some of the changes being introduced to comply with MMR, we want to be able to support them.
“Having trialled a Saturday service, we are confident that we will be able to provide those brokers working on the weekends with the help and guidance they are looking for.”
NatWest has recruited a number of new members to the team in the last six months that has enabled it to increase significantly the amount of chats it is able to conduct each day.
The team deals with an average of 18,000 LiveTalk sessions a month.
