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"Are lender awards ceremonies tacky and tone-deaf during a cost of living and mortgage crisis?"

Journalist: Newsteam, Newsteam

ended 07. October 2023

Do industry award events, need to be toned down in light of the Cost Of Living Crisis and mortgage crisis the country is experiencing ?

We have all seen the Grandeur of Events laid on, similar to an Oscar award night, with the same usual suspect companies receiving awards, culminating in a booze fest, and dance moves not seen since the 80's

  • Should events be “toned” down and less opulent?
  • Seems to be an award for everything at the minute - should categories be reduced ?
  • The FCA are hot on financial promotion and what we can and can't promote - should the same be applied on post-awards event social media pics and videos (at least remove the bottle popping)
  • How do you think this is perceived by the broker and consumer market? Especially when consumers are trying to keep a roof over their heads 

6 responses from the Newspage community

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Darryl Dhoffer
Founder at The Mortgage Geezer
Are we seeing the Hedonism days of financial award ceremonies pre-2008 returning? - from the outside looking in it certainly looks that way. Let's not forget the consumer pays our bills and paves the way for any individual or company success - let's not take this for granted, and monitor and be mindful of how our industry is perceived, and what all consumers are experiencing in a Cost Of Living crisis - less champagne and more lemonade please.
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Michelle Lawson
Director at Lawson Financial
I don't really see the point of these awards any more. The same people win and attend most of the time and it is largely driven by funding in my opinion. I don't consider a lender because of their 'award winning system' that I have no control over- if they have the right product for my customer I have to use the system. It is debatable previous winners are the 'best' in their category most of the time. I think there are too many and the real meaning has been significantly diluted.
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Justin Moy
Managing Director at EHF Mortgages
There are so many awards ceremonies within our industry at the moment, their importance is unfortunately diluted as a result and with the usual suspects winning each and every time, and the appeal to the hard working and successful brokers not involved will only diminish further. I would rather see the comedian compares stay on TV and they bring back Mock the Week, perhaps the BBC is to blame in part for their availabilty.
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Simon Bridgland
Director at Charwin Private Clients
Awards are always a nice thing to be on the receiving end of, (I know Ive had a few), but care should always be taken about who it is that gets to see those sipping the fizzy stuff. The industry doesn't really do itself any favours when day after day images of glitzy bashes in grand locations are plastered over social media. With winners celebrating in a seemingly decadent fashion, it could be perceived in the wrong way by those out of the industry, when in reality its the opportunity for some great PR. Not that they are doing anything wild nor of course illegal but nowadays anyone can see the images, so would companies and their marketing teams be happy that images taken represent their brands in this way, in front of the very people they are trying to attract?
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Stephen Perkins
Managing Director at Yellow Brick Mortgages
The events are fine, every industry deserves to get dressed up and celebrate successes. However the social posts/videos posted should be toned down and not be too boozy especially in the current financial climate. With taking a table at an awards event costing over £5k once you factor in accomodation and travel i think many companies will be giving more of them a miss anyway.
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Peter Stamford
Mortgage Expert at Stamford Home Finance
Potentially an opposing view here, but I say let them get on with it. The people in the industry aren't working any less hard and it's nice to have an occasional night out and forget about your problems.