In its Voice of the Intermediary survey the master broker sought to discover how the market is feeling about the impending FCA regulation.
When asked whether training sessions would be welcomed in the lead up to April participants responded overwhelmingly in favour of them.
The Voice of the Intermediary survey also revealed 81% of brokers think the launch of well-known first mortgage brands into the secured loan market is good for the industry while 62% think that such lenders entering the market will encourage intermediaries as a whole to get more involved and enter the market.
Steve Walker, managing director of Promise Solutions, says the company has already commenced planning events for 2014 with lender partners.
He said:
“We were really impressed with the quality of conversations the team had with intermediaries about secured loans. There is much excitement and enthusiasm in this market and this can only increase with more new lenders coming on board to increase competition and choice.
However, it is also clear that some mortgage intermediaries prefer to avoid secured loans and avoid changing their model which could raise some TCF questions in the future.
“The size of the secured loan market in 2014 is forecast to perhaps double in volume as products and criteria from lenders evolve together with increasing demand for more imaginative solutions to even more complex customer circumstances. Training will be key to keeping brokers up to speed.
“Secured loan master brokers will also need to look at ever increasing ways to improve efficiencies and make dealing with them easy for intermediaries. Technology will play an increasing part in this so that intermediaries can do as much or as little as they require in the sales process to get the best result for their clients.”
Norman Dugmore of Mortgage & Finance in Telford says:
“I have been involved in secured loans for many years and I am welcoming the changes and improvements that should come along with a bigger and more prominent market. For too long secured loans have been an after-thought when all other avenues of financing have been exhausted. From April 2014, intermediaries should consider secured loans alongside other products and this inevitably will mean the customer will get a better deal overall.
“Training and development will be an integral part of the improvements in the secured loan industry and I think the events that Promise are thinking about should be a must for intermediaries."
