Can you share a bit about your background and how it shaped your journey at finova?
I’ve been with finova for over 14 years, starting as a Business Analyst and working my way up to Chief Product Officer. During this time, I’ve delivered over 30 solutions to our clients, from Fleet Mortgages’ complex buy-to-let offering through to Aldermore’s commercial real estate solutions - each tailored to meet their unique business goals and delivering key capabilities using the same technology solution.
The key balance has been ensuring we have consistency in the use of our products alongside the ability to deliver against the customer’s key business priorities and longer term vision. However, if I had to choose my proudest moment, it would be founding finova’s product function – we have built an amazing team that are driven to drive innovation and to work in partnership with our amazing customers to be deliver great outcomes.
How do you see technology reshaping the lending and savings landscape?
Technology is transforming the lending and savings landscape at a rapid pace, reshaping traditional systems and creating new opportunities for both consumers and lenders. From enhanced accessibility through digital lending platforms and mobile saving solutions, to scalable cloud-based solutions serving a global customer base, whilst the pace of the change has been hampered by more recent economic uncertainty, we should expect this to pick up significantly going in to next year.
One of the emerging trends we are seeing is the use of automation through AI and machine learning, where it can support tasks like reviewing pay slips or reading bank statements. We should expect that trend to gather further momentum with more complex and advanced models to support assessment or credit risk and money laundering. Through later-life lending we have seen much greater leaps in the use of this technology, with complex algorithmic models allowing for personalised lending products and reduced risk – a trend which will persist next year, too.
Although Open Banking hasn’t gathered the same level of momentum as AI, it is still playing a key role in affordability verification for unsecured loans. Its adoption in mortgage lending is naturally slower due to the higher risks involved, but this dynamic could evolve in the coming years.
finova now offers two key origination platforms: MSO and Apprivo. Will you continue to support both?
Absolutely. While MSO and Apprivo share some synergies, they serve distinct markets and offer unique strengths. MSO focuses on Residential and Buy-To-Let product lines and has been highly successful with large-scale organisations. It integrates seamlessly with client strategic platforms for decision-making.
Apprivo, on the other hand, supports a broader range of products, from Residential and BTL to Second Charge mortgages, Commercial Mortgages, Bridging, and even savings origination. Its highly configurable nature allows clients with in-house IT/Change functions or SI partners to implement fast, high-quality changes. Supporting both platforms ensures we meet the diverse needs of our clients across the lending spectrum, and will be critical to our product strategy moving forward.
What are the key challenges lenders are facing when adopting new technologies?
Lenders are at a crossroads, trying to balance ageing technology and legacy systems with the need for modern, scalable cloud-native solutions. The UK lending market is unique to other markets, and within that, specialist lending is even more complex. Many lenders are grappling with how to lower costs while keeping their technology agile enough to evolve with market demands.
It’s important that firms understand demand and focus on value. By partnering closely with our customers, we ensure that innovation addresses real-world problems and delivers measurable improvements. This approach allows us to balance cutting-edge advancements with the reliability our clients depend on.
What does 2025 hold for finova?
2025 is going to be an exciting year for finova as we continue to empower lenders to keep up with the digital demands of their customers. The financial industry is undergoing a profound digital transformation, and the mortgage market is catching up. Once hesitant to adopt new technologies, the sector is now embracing cutting-edge advancements that are reshaping the homebuying journey. At finova, we are well-positioned to lead this evolution by enabling lenders to deliver a quality tech-driven service to brokers and end customers alike.
