Three months, two applicants, two accounts each
The case is ready for submission, apart from one job. The broker opens twelve PDF bank statements and starts reading. Salary in, rent out, car finance, a gym, several subscriptions, a buy now pay later payment the client did not mention, transfers to a savings account, some cash withdrawals, a returned direct debit in the second month.
Each item that might raise a question gets noted, and some need a conversation with the client. It takes a good part of an afternoon, and it is easy to miss a small regular payment in a long list.
Why statement review is slow
Bank statements are long, formatted differently by every bank, and full of small transactions. Brokers read them by eye because there is no quick way to pull out the regular items and compare them with the fact find.
Some brokers and lenders use open banking services, which help where clients agree to them. But many cases still run on PDF statements, and the broker still has to form their own picture.
- Every bank formats statements differently.
- Regular commitments hidden among many small transactions.
- Joint and multiple accounts to read for each applicant.
- Fact find declarations compared with statements by memory.
- Notes on what to ask the client kept on paper or in email.
The work also tends to happen at the last minute, just before submission, when the broker is keen to get the case in. That is when small things are most easily missed.
What rushed statement review costs
| Missed item | What can happen |
|---|---|
| Undeclared regular commitment | Underwriter query, or a figure that needs revisiting |
| Returned payment | Question from the lender the broker could have prepared for |
| Unexplained large transfer | Request for evidence late in the process |
| Different account for salary | Missing statements discovered at underwriting |
Underwriter queries raised after submission slow the case down and can unsettle a client who thought everything was ready. Finding the same point before submission lets the broker talk to the client calmly and include the explanation with the case.
The statement summary we build
- Statements uploaded by the client are read, and transactions extracted into a consistent format, whichever bank issued them.
- Regular payments are grouped, such as monthly credit agreements, subscriptions and transfers, with amounts and dates.
- The regular outgoings found are placed side by side with the commitments declared in the fact find, and differences are listed.
- Items your brokers commonly ask about, set by your brokerage, are highlighted: returned payments, overdraft use, large one-off transfers, payments to credit providers not declared.
- Every highlighted item links to the exact line on the statement page, so the broker can see it in context.
- The broker marks each item as fine, to discuss with the client, or to include with the submission, and notes are saved to the case.
The summary does not judge the client or predict a lender's decision. It is a faster way for the broker to see what they would have looked for anyway, and the broker still reviews the statements.
How the afternoon changes
The broker opens a one-page summary for each applicant, with regular outgoings grouped and items to check listed, each a click from the original line. The review is quicker and more consistent between brokers. Conversations with clients about undeclared items happen before submission. And the notes are on the case for anyone who picks it up.
Recognise this before submission?
- Brokers read every statement line by line.
- Undeclared commitments turn up at underwriting.
- Different brokers review statements in different ways.
- Notes about statement queries are not kept on the case.
- Joint applications with several accounts take hours to review.