Jack Saxton, managing director of Halifax Intermediaries, commented: "We have been in close consultation with Origo for a number of months now. There is a clear demand from intermediaries for a common approach to an e-standards market and we are delighted to be working so closely with Origo to develop the proposition further."

As announced earlier this month, the initiative is supported by The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries (AMI) as well as 13 other lenders, including: Abbey, Accord, Future Mortgages, GE, GMAC-RFC, Kensington, Money Partners, Mortgage Express, Mortgages plc, Nationwide, Paragon, Platform and Portman BS. The initiative is open to all lenders, intermediaries and technology companies in the industry and Origo will be continuing consultation with other players over the coming months to secure further support.

"This is great news," commented Paul Pettitt, managing director of Origo. "The support and feedback we've had from the industry since the launch in February has been extremely positive and having HBOS on board, as the largest lender, further demonstrates how strategically important the initiative is for the industry."

"With technology now a crucial element to intermediaries in helping maximise efficiencies and driving down costs, now is the time to drive a strategic approach for e-commerce. It is evident that intermediaries are faced with using an abundance of differing systems in their job. This needs to be addressed head on by the industry. HBOS will add significant weight to the industry's efforts," added Pettitt.

HBOS will immediately be providing its input to Origo's work on priority areas that are jointly agreed between the group of lenders and intermediaries.

Feedback received by Origo from the mortgage industry so far has resulted in demand for standards to underpin a range of business processes, including: Decision-In-Principle/Approval-In-Principle; Key Facts Illustrations; Full Application; sourcing; case tracking; procuration fee reconciliation; and to also consider how to address the issue of multiple passwords for extranets.