Mortgage lender panels and why they matter to you

Scottish Building Society, which is said to be the world’s oldest remaining building society, has posted its strongest results in its 174 year history.

Its chief executive Paul Denton paid tribute to the company’s success against the backdrop of the Covid pandemic and global financial conditions.

He said: “It has been without doubt two enormously difficult years from an economic and operational perspective, but our staff have delivered outstanding results despite these major challenges.”

Although MacDonald Lynch, which took over the firm of Lynch & Co. after 38 years in business, is still less than a year old, there are some interesting parallels between our new start and this venerable building society.

We too can claim some outstanding results, overcoming many logistical and administrative hurdles in our first year. Setting up a new firm – albeit one with a proud pedigree – in the grip of a pandemic was no mean feat.

One example of our success is the number of conveyancing lender panel memberships that we now hold, among them Scottish Building Society.

Access to these panels is vital for any firm of solicitors engaged in conveyancing as mortgage lenders will only work with solicitors they have approved. For clients, it’s important that we are members of a wide range of panels as this means we can act in a broad spectrum of transactions which involve mortgages.

According to Robert Telfer, our solicitor charged with panel membership, this is also important for client choice and confidence: “clients want their solicitor to be on the panel for a wide range of lenders so that they can choose the best product suitable to their needs whilst also being confident that their solicitor is trusted by their chosen lender to act.”

In its first year, MacDonald Lynch has secured panel memberships with Clydesdale Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland, Virgin Money, Yorkshire Building Society, Accord Mortgages, Leeds Building Society, the West Brom and Scottish Building Society, amongst others. For a relatively new firm, it is a tremendous vote of confidence from some of the biggest names in the mortgage sector, including the oldest building society in the world.

So, as we raise a cheer to Scottish Building Society on their recent record performance, we can feel a sense of pride that our young – but ambitious and fast growing - firm is part of their success story.

• If you are looking to buy or sell property, the MacDonald Lynch conveyancing team can help. Call us on 0141 649 9552. You can find a full list of our panel memberships here>