Vernon Building Society leverages artificial intelligence (AI) to speed up mortgage origination while empowering human staff to make decisions on more complex applications.
Through FintechOS’ platform, the 102-year-old mutual association can compete with large mortgage providers on mortgage processing speed while focusing on how people are differentiated.
The Stockport-based company has 25,000 members and total assets of around £534m and specializes in savings and more complex mortgages. The company continues to grow, with mortgages on its books now reaching £439.5m and total assets increasing by 5.4% on last year.
“All mortgage decisions are made by humans,” Vernon CEO Darren Ditchburn said.
He said major mortgage providers were using “smart technology” to speed up processing, but added: “We are helping people with more complex or unusual situations that require human underwriting.”
Vernon’s mortgage loans are often not easy to apply for, such as those from wealthy individuals, retirees and people with interest-only needs, and he also funds self-build projects.
But Ditchburn said the company wants to close the gap with larger companies in terms of processing speed and is leveraging AI to achieve that goal. “We are looking at investing in technology that effectively takes the pain out of the wheel and allows employees to focus on what we consider to be the human element, the added value,” he said.
“This provides us with a modern, flexible mortgage platform that significantly improves the experience for our members, brokers, and colleagues. It combines the stability of our core banking system with the innovation we need to support our future growth. Most importantly, it allows us to continue to deliver superior service, faster human decision-making, and more transparent mortgage lending while staying true to our mutual purpose.”
The FintechOS system runs on Vernon’s existing core infrastructure without requiring system replacement. It replaces front-end online application systems and automatically connects systems in the processing chain, eliminating human intervention.
Links in the processing chain that must be activated manually include systems such as credit checks, valuation instructions, transportation, and payment systems.
Before the FinTechOS platform, when applying for a mortgage, data was imported from a data-capturing front end and manually entered into all the different systems.
“The FinTechOS system brings everything together into one ecosystem,” Ditchburn said. “We take data from all our systems and make decisions from it.”
The platform also allows teams to design and launch new mortgage proposals using no-code configuration and AI-enabled features.
With just 100 staff, Vernon wants to expand without adding more employees. “The efficiencies that allow us to support future growth through this modernization are important to us,” Ditchburn said.
The mutual association also plans to upgrade its core banking system and introduce its first mobile app in the near future.
Vernon’s use of AI is being imitated and encouraged across the mortgage industry.
Separately, in December 2025, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) outlined four focus areas as part of its plans to build the ‘mortgage market of the future’.
One of these will focus on innovation and disclosure, increasing the use of AI among brokers while reducing the burden on humans in the process, the FCA said. “We are encouraging the use of data and technology such as AI to help brokers provide better and faster advice while retaining a human touch.”
