One to One – Daybreak Mirfin, underwriting and actual property director, OSB Group

What does your role as director of underwriting and real estate entail, in a nutshell?

I lead a multi-discipline team of underwriters, surveyors and administrative staff across our three UK locations and two locations in India to originate new lending from application through to completion, supporting our sales and high-net-worth teams.

This includes meeting borrowers, working with our credit and other risk/support functions, offering internal consultancy on property, undertaking valuations for new and existing properties, and modelling property risk across our portfolio.

Trust that people want to do a good job and let them do it

What is the biggest challenge you have faced?

The pandemic changed the way everybody worked and altered the credit landscape dramatically.

But perhaps the biggest challenge has been helping to grow the underwriting function across the group from six staff when I started in 2011 to more than 400 staff across five sites, and ensuring that they all have the opportunity to evolve and develop their careers.

I really believe we are trusted by brokers to do what we say and honour our decisions

Recently, unprecedented levels of enquiries have placed extraordinary pressure on underwriters across the industry. Investing in our teams’ development and empowering them to take control have really helped us manage our way through this.

What is your management style?

It’s vital to value your staff, trust them to do the right thing and not micromanage them. Listen to them, be open to change and be willing to try new approaches.

It’s great to see people of all genders and ethnicities progress, and not just at the more junior levels

I genuinely believe that most people come to work every day to do their best, and managers need to give them space to perform. When it comes to underwriting, give them the time to fully explore each case.

Coaching and mentoring are equally as important as management.

What is the highlight of your career to date?

My time at OSB Group. When I joined we were a small bank, which has since grown to become a FTSE 250 business. It is highly successful but still putting customers and brokers at the heart of what we do.

We don’t always get it right but we certainly try our best. I really believe we are trusted by brokers to do what we say and honour our decisions.

We are looking at investing significantly in technology to support our skilled underwriting teams

Is there anything you would change about the mortgage market?

I would like to see all parties work more closely together, embrace technology and move it all a bit faster.

When you are trying to buy property, it feels like there are so many hurdles. It would be super to get there more quickly.

What are some of OSB’s plans for the next 12 months?

We are looking at investing significantly in technology to support our skilled underwriting teams, and growing our offering while remaining true to our roots of being an intermediary-only lender.

I genuinely believe that most people come to work every day to do their best

We’re also focusing on environmental, social and governance (ESG), working to understand our customers’ plans and attitudes, and reshaping our lending strategies.

Do you think much progress is being made in terms of equality in the sector?

Since I started over 30 years ago, the progress has been supersonic. It’s great to see people of all genders and ethnicities progress, and not just at the more junior levels.

At OSB Group we are committed to diversity at every level. While there is still work to do, progress is gaining pace.

We have just appointed a dedicated specialist, Lexi Tsalkitzoglou, to our ESG team, specifically to foster a more inclusive and diverse environment for colleagues, customers and our supply chain.

Listen to your staff, be open to change and be willing to try new approaches

If you didn’t work in finance, what other career would appeal to you?

Nursing would have been my chosen career, but I started work in an estate agency while at college. That piqued my interest in all things mortgages, and I simply carried on.

What’s the best advice you have received?

Be fair and be kind. Trust that people want to do a good job and let them do it. And don’t be afraid to show you are human.

This article featured in the December 2022/January 2023 edition of MS.

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