Running a business is tough enough and it’s become much more difficult and time consuming since MMR, with the Financial Conduct Authority suggesting brokers now need to provide their customers whole of the market options with a secured loan and re-mortgage comparison, covering costs and suitability advice. The process must be all geared towards the very best end result for the client.
With attractive second charge products out there, there is a credible alternative to a re-mortgage or further advance and that market is growing fast. Historically, brokers should have always been considering this alternative but, with the change in regulator it is now even more imperative that you do.
However, picking through masses of criteria for each of the secured loan lenders, comparing the offers and documenting the process to effectively demonstrate your duty of care to your client is likely to take up a lot of your time. There simply aren’t enough hours in the day.
Rest assured there are many secured loan brokers who have been developing technology and systems in order to provide you with the tools you need to offer secured loans transparently and compliantly.
There are secured loan sourcing systems available that will enable you to quickly compare information such as lender, product, representative APR, total amount repayable and monthly repayments to find the loan that’s right for your client. Plus, there are even systems sophisticated enough to perform a “soft credit search” which means you can get an accurate quote without affecting your client’s credit profile.
Some have invested in fully compliant sourcing and underwriting systems. These compare a large range of products, ensuring that your client does not miss an appropriate option. If their sourcing system is coupled with an underwriting system, then you can be assured that all the correct compliance actions are being carried out too. You and your client also get a much quicker response time.
We launched The Loans Engine after realising that a great bulk of an adviser’s time is used on all the activity prior to receiving the signed documents and that actually, much of this activity could be done online. The goal was simple- create something that would automate as much of the underwriting process as possible, maximising efficiency and making the entire secured loan process easier for all involved.
We’ve used and refined this technology for almost a decade and love them or hate them one thing is for certain, sourcing systems have really changed the landscape of the secured loans industry. They’ve helped remove the mystery from secured loans, making the whole sales process more straightforward and efficient, and are now more than ever, integral to many brokers operating within the financial services.
