Details on First Direct mortgage lender:

First Direct has 1.2 million customers with 885,000 of them useing internet banking and 390,000 customers useing SMS text message banking. first direct is the largest text messaging bank in the UK. It sends around 2.6 million text messages to customers every month.
First direct employs 3,400 people in 2,800 FTE roles at two sites, in Leeds and Hamilton (near Glasgow) 43% of first direct's sales are via e-channels with more than 1 in 3 of first direct's customers join because of personal recommendation.
80% of customer contact with first direct is electronic with a the call centre handling around 235,000 telephone calls every week with over 13,000 calls a day outside working hours and over 500 calls a day from abroad.

HSBC's First direct has been in profit every year since 1995. According to MORI and Research International, first direct has been the most recommended bank in the UK for the past 16 years.

Mortgage Lender First Direct