Many packagers are striving to get more balance sheet lenders on their panels to minimise the impact of the credit crunch on business.
Last week, Praxis Mortgages re-vealed that it was adding Scarborough Specialist Mortgages to its panel and it is hoping to add CHL Mortgages on October 8.
Dudley Aldous, director of sales and marketing at Praxis, says: "Traditional lenders with their own funding streams are bringing much-needed stability to the sub-prime market."
Steve Field, managing director of Niche Mortgage Solutions, says the packager is in discussions with balance sheet lenders and has recently added BM Solutions to its panel.
He adds: "Until recently, packagers were at a disadvantage if they didn't have a wide range of securitising lenders on their panel. But the power has shifted to balance sheet providers."
Packagers are continuing to struggle as the credit crunch continues to bite business volumes. Last week, John Rice, managing director of the Regulatory Alliance of Mortgage Packagers, said applications to packagers were down 35%. He also forecast redundancies of 20% to 30% in the weeks to come, with packagers' income falling by up to 60% by Christmas.
Consultant Brian Pitt adds: "Firms that have been scraping by on small margins and high overheads will sink. No more than 50 packagers will survive this credit crunch."
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
FSA to crack TCF whip in 2008
The Financial Services Authority is set in 2008 to grill all 3,800 mortgage brokers in a bid to speed up the take-up of its Treating Customers Fairly initiative.
The regulator is also looking to focus on failing firms that need the most attention and debunk the myth that smaller firms are below the FSA’s radar.
Across the financial services spectrum, the FSA will be conducting mini-assessments with a whopping 18,000 advisers. Out of these, it says 25% of these mini-assessments will be followed up by a full assessment.
Mandy Spink, head of mortgage and credit unions at the FSA, says: “As everyone knows, the March 2007 deadline didn’t do particularly well. Only 41% of advisers implemented TCF and this was actually only 22% when you looked at mortgage firms.
“This strategy is about increasing the amount of contact with small firms, helping brokers embed TCF and focus on those that need regulatory attention.”
The FSA will be undertaking a major recruitment drive to bolster staff levels so it can undertake the TCF review.
Spink adds: "This is also a way of myth busting that firms are not under our radar. We would like to be in a position in giving as much help as possible to those engaging with us so we can focus as much as our resources on those that are not
The regulator is also looking to focus on failing firms that need the most attention and debunk the myth that smaller firms are below the FSA’s radar.
Across the financial services spectrum, the FSA will be conducting mini-assessments with a whopping 18,000 advisers. Out of these, it says 25% of these mini-assessments will be followed up by a full assessment.
Mandy Spink, head of mortgage and credit unions at the FSA, says: “As everyone knows, the March 2007 deadline didn’t do particularly well. Only 41% of advisers implemented TCF and this was actually only 22% when you looked at mortgage firms.
“This strategy is about increasing the amount of contact with small firms, helping brokers embed TCF and focus on those that need regulatory attention.”
The FSA will be undertaking a major recruitment drive to bolster staff levels so it can undertake the TCF review.
Spink adds: "This is also a way of myth busting that firms are not under our radar. We would like to be in a position in giving as much help as possible to those engaging with us so we can focus as much as our resources on those that are not
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