How data-led working practices can help you better prepare for interest rate changes

Ahead of the launch of our new Elevate webinar series, we undertook an extensive survey to understand some of the concerns and pressures faced by advisers. This was partly to help us inform the topics for the webinar, but also to find out how and where the adoption of data-led working practices could improve efficiency and decision making for advisers. 

The survey, which polled more than 200 people in the industry, identified a number of concerns, including a common trend of growing pressures of time management and administration responsibilities. 

In this article, we’ll explore the benefits of employing data-informed working practices for calendar events such as interest rate decision days – just one of many areas where data can help advisers make smarter, quicker decisions.

The survey for the Elevate webinar series followed on from the publication of our report - 2025 Adviser Playbook: Insights for smarter 2025 planning - which capitalised on Twenty7tec’s data capabilities to reveal detailed insights as to the working patterns of advisers – and crucially, where and how efficiency can be increased and business growth opportunities capitalised upon.

The report showed that advisers are busier than ever – and having to deal with an increasing number of issues and challenges, from Consumer Duty expectations, and rapid rate and product changes, through to shifting policies, higher expectations and greater consumer demand. However, this is where data-informed practices can help ease some of that burden – if we know when we are going to be busiest, we can use this knowledge to better structure our working methods. 

By employing a data-led approach to working practices, as our 2025 Adviser Playbook shows, advisers can regain control – bringing benefits to themselves and of course their clients. Some of those practices include aligning technology with strategy, and focusing on the busiest periods for different client segments, such as first-time buyers, landlords, self-employed clients or high-value property seekers. 

However, let’s focus on another important area identified in our report where data-informed decisions could increase efficiency – scheduled events, such as Bank of England interest rate decisions – and how better preparation could help advisers anticipate trends and adjust strategies accordingly. To many, this may seem like common sense, however such routine tasks can easily be forgotten during busy periods – but by utilising data, we can have much greater foresight. 

We know in advance when interest rate meetings are held, and our data shows that decision days (Thursdays) see 5.23% more mortgage searches than the average Thursday. Our data also shows that in June 2023, when the Bank of England base rate increased from 4.50% to 5.00%, 40,902 remortgage searches were conducted by advisers on our mortgage sourcing platform, up 38.8% from an average Thursday and 20.7% higher than previous interest rate decision days in the previous two years.

At the same time, purchase mortgage searches by advisers on the platform went down 4.2% on an average Thursday, and were down 7.6% compared to the average previous interest rate decision days in 2022 and 2021.

Therefore, by identifying trends such as these, advisers can anticipate any potential surge ahead of the announcements, and employ measures such as allocating additional time and resources to handle, for example, the influx of remortgage searches on those days. 

The June 2023 announcement also had a significant impact on products, with 873 fewer available the week after the rate hike – but how does this data translate into the real-time working practices of advisers, and help ease some of the pressure?

By using data to inform decisions, advisers can pre-schedule time slots to prioritise client cases requiring immediate rate lock-ins or product switches, as well as using automated search tools to quickly identify the most competitive deals, as product availability, as demonstrated, can rapidly fluctuate.

In turn, this can also help build client satisfaction and relationships, by being able to monitor product availability closely advisers can act quickly to secure favourable deals, and be in a position to communicate early about potential product challenges, whilst also emphasising the importance of timely decisions. 

Additionally, our data shows that daily mortgage searches drop 1.81% two weeks prior to interest rate decision announcements, but rise slightly by 0.81% one week prior to decision day. By identifying these trends advisers can take advantage of the quieter period two weeks before a rate decision to review client portfolios, proactively reach out to those likely to be impacted by rate changes, and prepare tailored recommendations. One week prior, that focus can shift to engaging clients who are on the fence about remortgaging or refinancing, as this is when interest builds.

With access to high-quality data helping to not only better shape working practices, but also increase efficiency, and in turn provide better client satisfaction, it is clear that more advisers could be benefiting from employing a data-led approach to their working day – and our advice to advisers is simple: focus on your data game and stay proactive with market intelligence. 

Furthermore, the insights and trends identified from our data over the last five years also presents a roadmap for advisers to build on the successes from the past, while staying agile in a constantly changing market – but why is that so important in today’s quickly changing market? 

Again, we can look to the data for the answer. We know the mortgage industry has seen record-breaking activity, and the ability to adapt to shifts in demand – whether driven by interest rate changes, seasonal fluctuations, or client-specific needs – is crucial in increasing efficiency and maintaining success in the future.