Taking the Pain Out of Purchasing a Home
- By Jane Hutchinson-Barefoot, IBM
- August 16, 2022

For many, owning a home is a dream come true. A bank-issued mortgage is usually an essential ingredient in realizing that dream.
But as regulations, products, and processes evolve, issuing and obtaining a mortgage can be complicated. Banks are tasked with being able to access and apply accurate policy information to each customer’s unique needs in real-time throughout the home buying process.
Together with IBM, NatWest Group is solving that problem with a plan for digital mortgage support.
A smart platform that gets smarter every day
IBM® Consulting and NatWest have co-created an AI-powered, cloud-based platform that empowers mortgage call center employees with real-time digital mortgage support for home buyers.
The platform, built with IBM Watson® Assistant technology on IBM Cloud®, is called “Marge” — and is a valuable new asset to NatWest’s digital transformation.
“Our colleagues have a level of confidence that they never had before, which, in turn, gives customers confidence in the decisions that they’re making for their future.” — MaryAnn Fleming, head of homebuying services, NatWest Group
Marge is intentionally personified as a member of the NatWest team and has her own evolving personality. Marge was built directly on the cloud, embedded in NatWest’s existing data structures, and has access to new data added every minute through content updates and customer interactions. For NatWest mortgage call center employees, she is one single point of access for digital mortgage support for their cognitive enterprise.
Humans + technology = happy customers
While on the phone with a customer, NatWest employees get quick digital mortgage support from Marge by typing keywords into a console. With cognitive enterprise technology at their fingertips, they are able to support new and existing home-buying customers.
Since implementing the digital mortgage support tool, NatWest has seen a 20% improvement in customer Net Promoter Score (NPS) — a key customer loyalty metric — and a 10% decrease in call duration.
As Marge evolves, NatWest employees will be empowered to do great work during the digital transformation, and the bank will continue on its journey to becoming a Cognitive Enterprise, IBM’s vision for the next-gen business model.
The original article by Jane Hutchinson-Barefoot, IBM’s client stories strategist for the data-driven campaign, is here.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of CDOTrends. Image credit: iStockphoto/monkeybusinessimages