myi: Access4Finance have emphasised transparency as something which is integral to the company’s ethos – why is this something you have chosen to focus on?
Having worked with introducers for a long time, it’s apparent that a lot of them have been duped out of their earnings. Some well known companies have tried for years to tell introducers that the average processing costs are £400-500 which has then be deducted from their commission - in reality it is around £200 to process the case. If you multiply that by 5 completions a year, the broker has lost £1,000 which is completely wrong and needs to be stamped out of the industry. That is just common sense. If an introducer trusts me and my company with their client then they will be safe in the knowledge that not only they are being look after but also their clients are being looked after correctly.
myi: What challenges do you feel brokers are facing in light of current market conditions?
I think for a long time mortgage companies have been unwilling to lend – and still are. For brokers it seems to be that they previously self-certified clients and now can’t prove that income, for example, if they only have one year’s worth of healthy accounts.
myi: On a positive note, what opportunities will this create?
For the secured industry there are numerous opportunities to expand – to use one example, self-employed clients now have a much wider range of products available and are able to prove income with bank statements or accountant’s reference.
myi: In your opinion, what steps should the financial services sector be taking to re-build trust and confidence amongst consumers?
It sounds simple, but being transparent, honest, compliant and open in everything we do. Consumers and brokers shy away from anything they don’t recognise which is easy to rectify. As an industry we start to use jargon and over-complicate issues which mean we may alienate clients and even brokers, making them less confident in dealing with the industry as a whole. I really hope that, as a secured loan industry, we become regulated and also see some kind of qualification introduced for processing, like CeMAP. I would also like to be part of any industry consultation or discussion on this - so if anyone else would like to get on board, please give me a call!
myi: What are your plans for Access4Finance looking forward?
That would be telling! All we can say at the moment is that we are looking at becoming a major player and that doesn’t come overnight. We need to grow organically to do that, which means we can’t rush things. We deal with each introducer individually and build on the great relationships we already have with lenders, and it is this attitude that will give us a great foundation for our next step.
myi: If you weren’t in the financial services industry, what would you be doing?
I hate this question, I never know what to say - I wasn’t good enough to make it as a cricketer or footballer hence working in finance. I would love to do something media wise but I am awful with grammar, spelling and punctuation so that is pretty much out of the question! If I had to choose, I would say probably something to do with PR as I like to talk a lot.
Having previously worked in the industry for over 5 years as an underwriter and Business Development Manager, Scott is now Director of Access 4 Finance, which he also co-owns, and in his spare time enjoys football.
