Meet Ryan Quinn from our Product Development team
Ryan Quinn is Mortgage Product and Propositions Manager at Newcastle Building Society. Born and bred within a few miles of the Tyne, he has grown up with the Society very much part of his working life. He left school and, like his father studied electrical engineering, while also pursuing his love of music in local bands, even featuring on Radio 1 and in the NME (remember that), until 2007 when he joined the Society as a Product Development Assistant. From there he qualified as a chartered marketer, and has progressed and developed across several roles, culminating in his present post.
Ryan lives with his wife and two young daughters, who have yet to share his passion for Newcastle United, and even rejected his offer of Newcastle football strips. Even the family cat Billy is not black and white to Ryan's shame. Family and work life mean he has little time for past loves like guitar playing ("I used to be really interesting" Ryan jokes). Nevertheless, he has been instrumental in developing the Society's portfolio of innovative propositions like the First Homes mortgage range and more recently Shared Ownership proposition.
How has your experience through your career prepared you for the role you have today?
While my personal work experience has been focused here in the North East, managing our back book of mortgages allows me to see nationally, not just what borrowers have wanted in the past, but how they use the products we offer post completion - what they move onto after product periods expire. This sort of insight is hugely helpful as it can inform not only new product development for existing customers (like product transfers) but new origination products too. For example, the cycle of two-year fixed rate products of a few years ago has evolved and last year we have seen a growth in popularity of five-year fixed products. The current interest rate environments and the volatility of swap rates means there is a growing interest and demand from brokers and borrowers for discounted variable rates.
However, we can also see we need new ways of helping many borrowers where traditional means of getting a mortgage are difficult. One reason why we launched First Homes and more recently our Shared Ownership range to compensate for the end of Help to Buy and deliver help where it is really needed.
How do your broker relationships inform what you do?
It is really important that we listen and work with brokers, whether that is through the broker facing parts of the business like the BDM team or through our own contacts. Without them, it is very difficult to ensure new propositions such as First Homes and Shared Ownership really meet the market need. The feedback and input they give us really matters, so working closely with brokers, such as Mark Pender at MAB, whose help was instrumental in developing our First Homes proposition, is crucial if we are to successfully develop product propositions that really resonate and deliver.
How do you see your role going forward?
Our purpose as a Society is to help people own their own homes and that involves elements such as understanding the issues facing first-time buyers, the opportunities available in the market for innovative approaches to deliver that help, and remembering also that lending responsibly is part of that brief.
Clearly first-time buyers in particular face some real challenges in the current interest rate environment, so our job is to ensure, as best we can, that appropriate help is available to those we already support and those that are trying to move forward with their lives.
Our product and propositions team continues to grow - with the addition of a Head of Product Lending and a team of administrators now supporting our experienced team of Product Managers - as the Society itself has extended the markets in which it lends. Our team works tirelessly to ensure the right products get to market at the right time. I expect the team will continue to reflect the success of the Society as it continues to grow.
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For more information about how we can help you do business:
Talk to your dedicated Business Development Manager or contact your Intermediary Support Team at Intermediary.lending@newcastle.co.uk or 0345 602 2338. Our lines are open 9am - 6pm Monday to Friday.
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