FR: You joined The Lending Wizard team as part of the Freedom Finance role recently - what are you looking forward to in your new role?
I have been at Freedom Finance since 2003, becoming the group’s Operations Manager in 2014 and recently also took on the role of heading up The Lending Wizard, our loan sourcing proposition for brokers. The industry has embarked on the next phase of transformation, driven by different customer behaviours through existing and new channels. The Lending Wizard is ideally placed to build upon its status in the market and engage with new demands from these changes. I am looking forward to growing the business, building the brand up, and continuing The Lending Wizard’s commitment to delivering excellence. And hopefully winning the best technology award next year!
FR: How important do you think the online experience is for brokers – do you think it is gaining significance in the industry?
The online experience is essential. You can do anything online now, from ordering takeaways to booking holidays. Brokers’ time is precious and any that can be given back to them to spend with their customers is a big advantage. Using online sourcing portals can save a huge amount of time and we are currently in the process of updating ours to give brokers the ability to input their fact-find details and produce their Key Facts Illustration and other relevant documents directly from the system. With consumers becoming more tech savvy, it’s important that brokers are able to dedicate their time to the online experience and give their customers the most up-to-date service.
FR: How will regulatory changes continue to affect the second charge loans market?
Regulation can only be positive to the second charge market and the changes will definitely see an increase in activity for seconds. There will be a surge of interest when advisers need to compare mortgages and secured loans against each other. However, what we don't know is what that will mean in volume of completion for seconds. A mortgage may be best on price initially; however, with a large percentage of consumers being on low rate trackers or fixed rate products, this may not be the best deal for the customer and subsequently brokers need to be considering second charge solutions for their customers.
FR: Have you got any big plans or exciting news coming up that you can tell us about?
We are looking to market The Lending Wizard as a platform for other secured brokers to use to source loans. This means that in the long term, brokers will also be able to produce documents and have a full end-to-end packaging facility. Another change you will see shortly is a revamp of the website. This will see more products being launched and be more user friendly, providing brokers with supporting regulatory documents, which will form a safety net in order for them to evidence the recommendations made.
FR: What advice you would give to an intermediary starting out in the market today?
Be prepared and know your market. We have found that when speaking to intermediaries, many are lacking awareness of what the European Mortgage Credit Directive will bring, how it will change the industry, and the implications to their role from March 2016. I would advise anyone new entering this market to not only know about changes to first charge products, but alsoknow about second charge loans and they will become business as usual.
