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
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Moneyfacts and iE launch outsourced online account opening service
Financial
news and information Web site Moneyfacts has partnered with UK retail
banking software vendor Intelligent Environments (iE) to launch an
outsourced Internet savings applications service.
news and information Web site Moneyfacts has partnered with UK retail
banking software vendor Intelligent Environments (iE) to launch an
outsourced Internet savings applications service.
The
package is targeted at small financial services firms and building
societies that lack the resources and connectivity to sign up customers
online.
The service will be offered on rental terms, for a minimum contract period and with full hosting and implementation support.
Firms
will be charged for each application generated instead of paying a
licence fee which, says Moneyfacts, means low upfront investment and
running costs.
Moneyfacts also claims the service will
save companies money on know-your-customer checks because the
applications it generates will already be fully verified.
Stephen Rumbelow, head of Moneyfacts, says the cost of running branches is forcing institutions to focus on the Internet.
"Although
the products themselves are often market leading, shortcomings in the
application processes can see much of the product potential and
investment in product pricing go to waste through poor conversion
rates," he says.
Commenting on the move, Jerry Mulle,
director, sales and marketing, iE, says: "With Moneyfacts.co.uk we've a
'pay as you go' pricing model to offer a low cost start-up solution
that supports the business case for online financial services - reduced
cost of acquisition and reduced operational costs."
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Friday, September 14, 2007
Misys acquires Dresdner Kleinwort's primary loan book building platform
UK banking software vendor Misys says it has agreed to buy eLoancoordinator, an Internet-based book building platform for the primary loan market developed by Dresdner Kleinwort. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
ELoancoordinator was launched by Dresdner Kleinwort in 2005 and now has over 4000 registered users.
Misys says the platform will be further developed by its treasury & capital markets team to create a new system, branded Misys LoanCoordinator.
Managed in real-time, the system will provide bookrunners, borrowers and investors with comprehensive pipeline information required to track, analyse and administer syndicated loans on a single online site, says Misys.
The product will be available as a stand alone system or as part of Misys' Loan IQ suite for syndication, agency servicing and secondary trading activities.
Ken Katz, global product manager, Misys Loan IQ, says: "Once the product is integrated with Misys Loan IQ, bookrunners and investors will benefit from seamless front-to-back offering giving them a view of all information on a particular loan that is needed throughout the entire loan lifecycle."
Current Dresdner Kleinwort users will be transferred to Misys over the next six months. The two firms have agreed that the bank will be the first subscriber to the new Misys LoanCoordinator.
ELoancoordinator was launched by Dresdner Kleinwort in 2005 and now has over 4000 registered users.
Misys says the platform will be further developed by its treasury & capital markets team to create a new system, branded Misys LoanCoordinator.
Managed in real-time, the system will provide bookrunners, borrowers and investors with comprehensive pipeline information required to track, analyse and administer syndicated loans on a single online site, says Misys.
The product will be available as a stand alone system or as part of Misys' Loan IQ suite for syndication, agency servicing and secondary trading activities.
Ken Katz, global product manager, Misys Loan IQ, says: "Once the product is integrated with Misys Loan IQ, bookrunners and investors will benefit from seamless front-to-back offering giving them a view of all information on a particular loan that is needed throughout the entire loan lifecycle."
Current Dresdner Kleinwort users will be transferred to Misys over the next six months. The two firms have agreed that the bank will be the first subscriber to the new Misys LoanCoordinator.
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Thursday, July 26, 2007
Acquisition of N4 Solutions
Experian, the global information solutions company, announces that it has acquired N4 Solutions, a UK-based mortgage sector and financial services software provider. The acquisition is a strong strategic fit with Experian's consumer credit activities and represents a natural extension to Experian's application processing capabilities.
Founded in 1999, N4 Solutions provides industry-leading software which helps mortgage providers to allocate the most appropriate mortgage to a customer, while helping financial services clients meet key compliance objectives. Its clients include large UK mortgage providers, such as Barclays, Nationwide and Portman.
Sales of N4 Solutions in the year to 31 March 2007 were £9m and gross assets as at 31 March 2007 were £2m, excluding cash. The company was purchased from its founders and will form part of Experian's Credit Services activities.
Founded in 1999, N4 Solutions provides industry-leading software which helps mortgage providers to allocate the most appropriate mortgage to a customer, while helping financial services clients meet key compliance objectives. Its clients include large UK mortgage providers, such as Barclays, Nationwide and Portman.
Sales of N4 Solutions in the year to 31 March 2007 were £9m and gross assets as at 31 March 2007 were £2m, excluding cash. The company was purchased from its founders and will form part of Experian's Credit Services activities.
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Thursday, July 19, 2007
Nationwide confirms broking arm details
Nationwide has announced further details on how its prime intermediary arm will operate following the planned merger with Portman Building Society on August 28.
The lender will be recruiting a substantial salesforce to commensurate with the size of the newly merged organisation. The team will report into a newly created position of head of sales for prime intermediary lending which has yet to be appointed.
Nationwide’s intermediary support team - currently based in Swindon - will be relocated to Portman’s headquarters in Bournemouth over a phased period.
Portman group development director Matthew Wyles will become executive director at Nationwide with responsibility for non-retail business.
Wyles says: "Intermediaries are at the centre of our vision for the future. Our new broker development sales force is a key element of a three year strategic development plan which will revolutionise Nationwide's systems and service delivery to the
intermediary mortgage market."
Divisional director of intermediary markets Peter Leydon adds: "This
announcement is tangible evidence of the Nationwide's absolute commitment to intermediaries. My management team and I will assemble, during the coming months, a substantial and highly effective sales force to support the thousands of firms up and down the country who want to do business with Nationwide."
Reporting directly to Leydon will be: Head of corporate development Joe Rabbitt who is currently head of intermediary development at Nationwide and head of support Peter Saint Ruth who is currently a senior manager within intermediary markets at Nationwide.
The lender will be recruiting a substantial salesforce to commensurate with the size of the newly merged organisation. The team will report into a newly created position of head of sales for prime intermediary lending which has yet to be appointed.
Nationwide’s intermediary support team - currently based in Swindon - will be relocated to Portman’s headquarters in Bournemouth over a phased period.
Portman group development director Matthew Wyles will become executive director at Nationwide with responsibility for non-retail business.
Wyles says: "Intermediaries are at the centre of our vision for the future. Our new broker development sales force is a key element of a three year strategic development plan which will revolutionise Nationwide's systems and service delivery to the
intermediary mortgage market."
Divisional director of intermediary markets Peter Leydon adds: "This
announcement is tangible evidence of the Nationwide's absolute commitment to intermediaries. My management team and I will assemble, during the coming months, a substantial and highly effective sales force to support the thousands of firms up and down the country who want to do business with Nationwide."
Reporting directly to Leydon will be: Head of corporate development Joe Rabbitt who is currently head of intermediary development at Nationwide and head of support Peter Saint Ruth who is currently a senior manager within intermediary markets at Nationwide.
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Bristol and West to scrap exit fees from July 31
Bristol and West has confirmed it will also be scrapping exit fees for future customers from July 31.
This follows Cheltenham and Gloucester’s announcement last week that it will be axing its £225 exit charge on all future lending.
Lenders had a deadline of July 31 by the FSA to sort out their fee structure.
Bristol and West are now the second top 20 lender to announce they will no longer charge exit fees.
The decision will apply to mortgages on both Bank of Ireland and Bristol and West brands.
This follows Cheltenham and Gloucester’s announcement last week that it will be axing its £225 exit charge on all future lending.
Lenders had a deadline of July 31 by the FSA to sort out their fee structure.
Bristol and West are now the second top 20 lender to announce they will no longer charge exit fees.
The decision will apply to mortgages on both Bank of Ireland and Bristol and West brands.
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Wednesday, July 18, 2007
NR overtakes Lloyds TSB in CML lender league table
Northern Rock has overtaken Lloyds TSB in the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ table of the largest lenders for 2006 by gross mortgage lending.
HBOS retains its iron grip in first position with £73.2bn worth of gross lending and a 21.2% estimated market share.
In second place is Abbey with £32.6bn worth of lending and a 9.4% market share.
Northern Rock has slipped into third place, overtaking Lloyds TSB, with £29bn of lending and an 8.4% market share.
Lloyds TSB, now ranks fourth largest with £27.6bn of lending and an 8% market share.
Nationwide came in fifth position with £21.1bn and a 6.1% share of the market.
Once it merges with Portman later this year, its combined gross mortgage lending will still total less than that of Lloyds TSB, at £26.1bn.
Royal Bank of Scotland follows close behind with £20bn of lending and a 5.8% market share.
Further down the ranks, HSBC has fallen from seventh place last year to ninth place, and now sits below Barclays and Alliance & Leicester with £12.4bn of gross lending and a 3.6% share of the market.
Barclays saw £18.4bn of lending, while Alliance & Leicester saw £12.6bn.
HBOS retains its iron grip in first position with £73.2bn worth of gross lending and a 21.2% estimated market share.
In second place is Abbey with £32.6bn worth of lending and a 9.4% market share.
Northern Rock has slipped into third place, overtaking Lloyds TSB, with £29bn of lending and an 8.4% market share.
Lloyds TSB, now ranks fourth largest with £27.6bn of lending and an 8% market share.
Nationwide came in fifth position with £21.1bn and a 6.1% share of the market.
Once it merges with Portman later this year, its combined gross mortgage lending will still total less than that of Lloyds TSB, at £26.1bn.
Royal Bank of Scotland follows close behind with £20bn of lending and a 5.8% market share.
Further down the ranks, HSBC has fallen from seventh place last year to ninth place, and now sits below Barclays and Alliance & Leicester with £12.4bn of gross lending and a 3.6% share of the market.
Barclays saw £18.4bn of lending, while Alliance & Leicester saw £12.6bn.
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Friday, July 06, 2007
GE rumoured to be under investigation by FSA
Leah Milner - 05-Jul-2007
By Leah Milner
GE Money Home Lending is rumoured to be the subject of a Financial Services Authority probe.
The
rumoured investigation into the sub-prime lender comes a day after the
FSA’s review of the sector revealed serious shortcomings.
The FSA revealed it was investigating five mortgage brokers following on from its review of the sub-prime sector.
A spokesman for GE Money says the lender is unwilling to comment on industry speculation.Powered by ScribeFire.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Offset
New research published today by the Council of Mortgage Lenders has
revealed strong growth in the number of people opting for an offset
mortgage. During 2006 170,000 offset mortgages were taken out, worth
£29.3 billion - equivalent to 7% of all new lending. And, the
year-on-year growth of offset mortgages between April 2006 and March
this year was 49% (by value) - compared to just 15% for non-offset
lending. Offset mortgages combine a mortgage and savings in one account
revealed strong growth in the number of people opting for an offset
mortgage. During 2006 170,000 offset mortgages were taken out, worth
£29.3 billion - equivalent to 7% of all new lending. And, the
year-on-year growth of offset mortgages between April 2006 and March
this year was 49% (by value) - compared to just 15% for non-offset
lending. Offset mortgages combine a mortgage and savings in one account
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Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Offset mortgages gain in popularity
New
research by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has revealed that
170,000 offset mortgages worth £23.9 billion, or 7% of all new lending,
were taken out last year. They grew 49% by value in the year to
end-March, compared with the previous year, while non-offset mortgages
grew just 15%. "Mortgage lenders are constantly developing new products
to meet the needs of borrowers, and the fact there are now 250 offset
products available in the market illustrates this," said CML
statistician Phoebe Zhang said. "Continued innovation by lenders will
help to increase consumer awareness of offset products and expand the
market potential for offsets in the future."
research by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has revealed that
170,000 offset mortgages worth £23.9 billion, or 7% of all new lending,
were taken out last year. They grew 49% by value in the year to
end-March, compared with the previous year, while non-offset mortgages
grew just 15%. "Mortgage lenders are constantly developing new products
to meet the needs of borrowers, and the fact there are now 250 offset
products available in the market illustrates this," said CML
statistician Phoebe Zhang said. "Continued innovation by lenders will
help to increase consumer awareness of offset products and expand the
market potential for offsets in the future."
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Friday, June 01, 2007
N4 predicts broader outlook for AVM's
N4 Solutions has predicted that AVM technology will be much broader than just valuations providing brokers and lenders with opportunities for added value services.
Since launching AVM desktop valuations, N4 has been working on a number of developments which will see AVMs used in a much broader context including buy-to-let investment management tools for mortgage brokers, providing them with the same analysis tools as available to investment advisers, including portfolio management, capital appreciation and yield analysis.
N4 predicts that AVM technology will be utilised by anyone that has an interest in pricing either individual properties, such as end consumers and local authorities for personalised rates calculations, through to portfolio managers for more accurate securitisation modelling.
David Wiseman, consultancy director, N4 Solutions, says: “Much of the current debate is focused on the short term implication of AVMs, with little regard for what they could mean for the industry.
“We see a very real opportunity for brokers who specialise in buy-to-let to offer portfolio management facilities, which will not only create additional revenue, but guarantee a regular dialogue.
“The technology will be used in an even wider perspective and will increase the accuracy of everything from local property taxation to house price indices.”
Since launching AVM desktop valuations, N4 has been working on a number of developments which will see AVMs used in a much broader context including buy-to-let investment management tools for mortgage brokers, providing them with the same analysis tools as available to investment advisers, including portfolio management, capital appreciation and yield analysis.
N4 predicts that AVM technology will be utilised by anyone that has an interest in pricing either individual properties, such as end consumers and local authorities for personalised rates calculations, through to portfolio managers for more accurate securitisation modelling.
David Wiseman, consultancy director, N4 Solutions, says: “Much of the current debate is focused on the short term implication of AVMs, with little regard for what they could mean for the industry.
“We see a very real opportunity for brokers who specialise in buy-to-let to offer portfolio management facilities, which will not only create additional revenue, but guarantee a regular dialogue.
“The technology will be used in an even wider perspective and will increase the accuracy of everything from local property taxation to house price indices.”
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Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Oracle forms financial services software unit
Oracle is establishing a new business unit focused on developing applications for the financial services industry. The new division will be headed by Rajesh Hukku, the current chairman and managing director of its majority-owned i-flex solutions subsidiary.
Headquartered in New York the unit will centralise and coordinate Oracle's financial services software products and serve as a vehicle for future acquisitions.
The new unit will bring together i-flex's applications - including Flexcube, Reveleus, Mantas, DayBreak and Insure3 - with Oracle's product suite.
In a statement Charles Phillips, president of Oracle, says the formation of the unit "will enable the consolidation and integration of our growing portfolio of financial services applications to provide the comprehensive and best-in-class solutions that our financial services customers expect".
I-flex executives R Ravisankar - currently CEO for international operations - and Deepak Ghaisas - who is currently CEO for India operations and CFO - will join Hukku to form part of the unit's management team.
Hukku will head the new unit in addition to his i-flex oversight responsibilities and will continue on the vendor's board as non-executive chairman.
Ravisankar and Ghaisas will both join the i-flex board as vice chairmen.
I-flex says its COO NRK Raman has been named managing director and CEO, while Makarand Padalkar, currently chief of staff and head of investor relations, assumes the role of i-flex's CFO.
Finally, Derek Williams, EVP of Oracle, will also join the i-flex board.
I-flex says the management changes are designed to achieve better co-ordination with Oracle's strategy for financial services. "This is an integral step in i-flex's strategic roadmap to position ourselves better to capture the enormous opportunity in financial services by expanding our leadership team," says Hukku.
http://www.finextra.com
Headquartered in New York the unit will centralise and coordinate Oracle's financial services software products and serve as a vehicle for future acquisitions.
The new unit will bring together i-flex's applications - including Flexcube, Reveleus, Mantas, DayBreak and Insure3 - with Oracle's product suite.
In a statement Charles Phillips, president of Oracle, says the formation of the unit "will enable the consolidation and integration of our growing portfolio of financial services applications to provide the comprehensive and best-in-class solutions that our financial services customers expect".
I-flex executives R Ravisankar - currently CEO for international operations - and Deepak Ghaisas - who is currently CEO for India operations and CFO - will join Hukku to form part of the unit's management team.
Hukku will head the new unit in addition to his i-flex oversight responsibilities and will continue on the vendor's board as non-executive chairman.
Ravisankar and Ghaisas will both join the i-flex board as vice chairmen.
I-flex says its COO NRK Raman has been named managing director and CEO, while Makarand Padalkar, currently chief of staff and head of investor relations, assumes the role of i-flex's CFO.
Finally, Derek Williams, EVP of Oracle, will also join the i-flex board.
I-flex says the management changes are designed to achieve better co-ordination with Oracle's strategy for financial services. "This is an integral step in i-flex's strategic roadmap to position ourselves better to capture the enormous opportunity in financial services by expanding our leadership team," says Hukku.
http://www.finextra.com
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Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Lehman to take on rivals with £4m marketing budget
Lehman Brothers looks set to take the intermediary market by storm over the coming months after it revealed it will be spending a whopping £4m on marketing to develop its multi-brand market strategy.
Ever since Guy Batchellor, former sales and marketing director at Platform, joined the helm of Lehman Mortgage Capital as executive director of sales and marketing alongside chief executive Simon Hinshelwood, broker anticipation has mounted over what the planned changes to the Lehman mortgage brands would entail. These include Capstone Mortgage Services, SPML, Preferred Mortgages and London Mortgage Company.
Now the recruitment process has started to bolster brand positioning with a marketing budget of £4m - at least double that of some high street names.
Lehman was advertising in yesterday's The Sunday Times for a head of sales for SPML, a director of marketing and a director of strategy and change.
The latter two positions are both City-based and offer a six-figure compensation package. SPML's head of sales will also be based in the City and is offering a competitive salary.
But it's the advertisement for a director of marketing that sheds light on the Lehman Mortgage Capital strategy.
The advert says: “You will work closely with internal and external contacts to establish key messages and execute strategic marketing campaigns, on time and within a circa £4m budget.”
It also says: "This newly-created role will allow you to develop and execute a winning multi-brand market strategy, ensuring the success of Lehmans' residential mortgage brands.”
And in a strong commitment to the packaging sector it adds: “You will… expand and maintain relationships with key packagers and other core customers.”
The director of strategy and change will report directly to Hinshelwood and “will have full responsibility for ensuring that the strategic vision and ambitious transformation objectives for Lehmans' residential mortgage brand are implemented and achieved".
Also responsible for delivering a five-year business plan it would appear acquisitions are also on the cards.
The advertisement adds: “You will be tasked with delivering benefits to customers and stakeholders, through implementing multi dimensional change projects including acquisitions, business integration, operational improvement and organizational change.”
Earlier this month Mortgage Strategy Online revealed that Lehman Brothers Mortgage Capital was to launch a direct-to-broker specialist lender at the beginning of 2008.
The new brand will provide a full range of specialist products, from sub-prime, self-cert and buy-to-let to prime self-cert and prime buy-to-let, but with a dedicated direct-to-broker distribution and is designed to sidestep accusations of a direct proposition conflicting with products offered to its packager partners.
One recent entrant to the lending market, who asked not to be named, says: "This is big money. This will give Lehman blanket coverage across the trade press. It will be interesting to see how that £4m is allocated across the three and now four brands but you can guarantee that over the coming six to 12 months Lehman will be a force to be reckoned with."
http://www.mortgagestrategy.co.uk
Ever since Guy Batchellor, former sales and marketing director at Platform, joined the helm of Lehman Mortgage Capital as executive director of sales and marketing alongside chief executive Simon Hinshelwood, broker anticipation has mounted over what the planned changes to the Lehman mortgage brands would entail. These include Capstone Mortgage Services, SPML, Preferred Mortgages and London Mortgage Company.
Now the recruitment process has started to bolster brand positioning with a marketing budget of £4m - at least double that of some high street names.
Lehman was advertising in yesterday's The Sunday Times for a head of sales for SPML, a director of marketing and a director of strategy and change.
The latter two positions are both City-based and offer a six-figure compensation package. SPML's head of sales will also be based in the City and is offering a competitive salary.
But it's the advertisement for a director of marketing that sheds light on the Lehman Mortgage Capital strategy.
The advert says: “You will work closely with internal and external contacts to establish key messages and execute strategic marketing campaigns, on time and within a circa £4m budget.”
It also says: "This newly-created role will allow you to develop and execute a winning multi-brand market strategy, ensuring the success of Lehmans' residential mortgage brands.”
And in a strong commitment to the packaging sector it adds: “You will… expand and maintain relationships with key packagers and other core customers.”
The director of strategy and change will report directly to Hinshelwood and “will have full responsibility for ensuring that the strategic vision and ambitious transformation objectives for Lehmans' residential mortgage brand are implemented and achieved".
Also responsible for delivering a five-year business plan it would appear acquisitions are also on the cards.
The advertisement adds: “You will be tasked with delivering benefits to customers and stakeholders, through implementing multi dimensional change projects including acquisitions, business integration, operational improvement and organizational change.”
Earlier this month Mortgage Strategy Online revealed that Lehman Brothers Mortgage Capital was to launch a direct-to-broker specialist lender at the beginning of 2008.
The new brand will provide a full range of specialist products, from sub-prime, self-cert and buy-to-let to prime self-cert and prime buy-to-let, but with a dedicated direct-to-broker distribution and is designed to sidestep accusations of a direct proposition conflicting with products offered to its packager partners.
One recent entrant to the lending market, who asked not to be named, says: "This is big money. This will give Lehman blanket coverage across the trade press. It will be interesting to see how that £4m is allocated across the three and now four brands but you can guarantee that over the coming six to 12 months Lehman will be a force to be reckoned with."
http://www.mortgagestrategy.co.uk
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Tuesday, April 24, 2007
FSA sets out future of regulation
The Financial Services Authority has today published a paper setting out its current thinking on its move towards a more-principles-based regulatory regime.
The paper, entitled 'Principles-based Regulation - Focusing on the Outcomes that Matter', accompanies a conference also being held today at which FSA senior management, financial services industry leaders and other interested parties debate the challenges and opportunities presented by a move away from more detailed rules to a principles-based environment.
Callum McCarthy, chairman of the FSA, says: "We have set ourselves and the industry on a course towards more-principles based regulation.
"We are pursuing this with determination, but recognise there are difficult issues as well as excellent opportunities for us as a regulator, the industry and consumers.
"Today's paper and conference are designed to explore those issues as we attempt to move further towards delivering a more outcome-focused regime."
John Tiner, chief executive of the FSA, says: "Financial services markets are dynamic and innovative.
"To be effective, regulators must be able to adapt their regimes to keep pace with market changes.
"We believe principles which focus on an outcome are more enduring while at the same time better foster innovation and competition.
"More principles based regulation is the natural next step in the evolution of our regulatory system. It will give firms more choice over how they meet our requirements bringing for many a closer fit with their business processes and more clearly placing the responsibility for key regulatory decisions at more senior levels in firms.
"We have already embarked on this journey. During the past two years, the FSA has increasingly taken a principles-based approach to resolving issues in both retail and wholesale markets such as the proposed new regime for the conduct of business, our Treating Customers Fairly initiative and the work on contract certainty within the wholesale market.
"It is clear that this approach will require changes in behaviour by both firms and FSA staff.
"For the FSA's part we are ready to meet the challenge and our 2007 Business Plan sets out our plans to invest in the recruitment, development and training of our staff to ensure they have the market knowledge, competencies and skills to make the judgements necessary to make more principles based regulation work.
"We are also aware there are external issues that need to be addressed. The current preference of the EU Commission to adopt specific rules, the inevitable and proper establishment of precedent by the Financial Ombudsman Service and the role of consumers of financial services in a more principles based environment.
"All of theses issues need to be examined carefully and will not be ignored as we plan and pursue our course."
To help firms the FSA will provide, either directly or through confirmation of industry guidance, a greater range of clearly sign-posted information to enable firms to plan their business processes and controls with confidence.
http://www.mortgagestrategy.co.uk
The paper, entitled 'Principles-based Regulation - Focusing on the Outcomes that Matter', accompanies a conference also being held today at which FSA senior management, financial services industry leaders and other interested parties debate the challenges and opportunities presented by a move away from more detailed rules to a principles-based environment.
Callum McCarthy, chairman of the FSA, says: "We have set ourselves and the industry on a course towards more-principles based regulation.
"We are pursuing this with determination, but recognise there are difficult issues as well as excellent opportunities for us as a regulator, the industry and consumers.
"Today's paper and conference are designed to explore those issues as we attempt to move further towards delivering a more outcome-focused regime."
John Tiner, chief executive of the FSA, says: "Financial services markets are dynamic and innovative.
"To be effective, regulators must be able to adapt their regimes to keep pace with market changes.
"We believe principles which focus on an outcome are more enduring while at the same time better foster innovation and competition.
"More principles based regulation is the natural next step in the evolution of our regulatory system. It will give firms more choice over how they meet our requirements bringing for many a closer fit with their business processes and more clearly placing the responsibility for key regulatory decisions at more senior levels in firms.
"We have already embarked on this journey. During the past two years, the FSA has increasingly taken a principles-based approach to resolving issues in both retail and wholesale markets such as the proposed new regime for the conduct of business, our Treating Customers Fairly initiative and the work on contract certainty within the wholesale market.
"It is clear that this approach will require changes in behaviour by both firms and FSA staff.
"For the FSA's part we are ready to meet the challenge and our 2007 Business Plan sets out our plans to invest in the recruitment, development and training of our staff to ensure they have the market knowledge, competencies and skills to make the judgements necessary to make more principles based regulation work.
"We are also aware there are external issues that need to be addressed. The current preference of the EU Commission to adopt specific rules, the inevitable and proper establishment of precedent by the Financial Ombudsman Service and the role of consumers of financial services in a more principles based environment.
"All of theses issues need to be examined carefully and will not be ignored as we plan and pursue our course."
To help firms the FSA will provide, either directly or through confirmation of industry guidance, a greater range of clearly sign-posted information to enable firms to plan their business processes and controls with confidence.
http://www.mortgagestrategy.co.uk
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Tuesday, April 17, 2007
TietoEnator Digital Innovations appoints Business Development Director to new UK role
TietoEnator Digital Innovations UK has announced the appointment of Alister Hoad to the role of Director of Business Development. Alister joins TietoEnator from Cable Wireless, where he was responsible for the development of the Real Time Nostro programme and more recently in the development of Banking Solutions for corporate customers.
Digital Innovations, part of TietoEnator, is responsible for the delivery of services across the key vertical markets. It combines TietoEnator's best practices, innovations and deep industry expertise for the benefit of all the Group's companies and business units. The unit is working closely with the Banking Insurance sales teams to deliver serviced based solutions including eInvoicing and eHotel. Digital Innovations has 600 employees in nine countries.
SEPA, although a cost challenge, can offer multiple opportunities to those banks that are willing to proactively engage with their corporate customers. The TietoEnator Full SEPA service based solution offers banks a number of key attributes when servicing their corporate market; including speed to market, technical flexibility and return on investment. These services are operated over the TietoEnator eExchange platform which carries over half a billion messages per annum.
TietoEnator has a strong client base in the UK and a solid reputation in the market as a trusted partner in the safe delivery of complex solutions. Through the service based solutions of Digital Innovations, TietoEnator is well positioned to support the banks service offerings to their corporate customer base. />
Digital Innovations, part of TietoEnator, is responsible for the delivery of services across the key vertical markets. It combines TietoEnator's best practices, innovations and deep industry expertise for the benefit of all the Group's companies and business units. The unit is working closely with the Banking Insurance sales teams to deliver serviced based solutions including eInvoicing and eHotel. Digital Innovations has 600 employees in nine countries.
SEPA, although a cost challenge, can offer multiple opportunities to those banks that are willing to proactively engage with their corporate customers. The TietoEnator Full SEPA service based solution offers banks a number of key attributes when servicing their corporate market; including speed to market, technical flexibility and return on investment. These services are operated over the TietoEnator eExchange platform which carries over half a billion messages per annum.
TietoEnator has a strong client base in the UK and a solid reputation in the market as a trusted partner in the safe delivery of complex solutions. Through the service based solutions of Digital Innovations, TietoEnator is well positioned to support the banks service offerings to their corporate customer base. />
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Thursday, March 22, 2007
Progressive Building Society improves mortgage application process with TietoEnator Mortgage Sales Portal
To enhance the service offered to its mortgage introducers and provide them with another channel for doing business with the Society, Progressive Building Society today announced that it has purchased the TietoEnator Mortgage Sales Portal. The TietoEnator system will enable Progressive’s introducers to manage a number of key processes online – the production of KFIs, the submission and tracking of mortgage applications.
“We looked at a number of systems and found them to be broadly similar, but we selected the TietoEnator system because it offers us a true straight through process and integrates seamlessly with our existing TietoEnator infrastructure” said Tommy O’Neill, Head of IT, Progressive Building Society.
The majority of Progressive mortgages are introduced rather than directly sold to the customer and it is therefore imperative that the Society offers the best possible service to its introducers. “Many of our introducers are expecting to do more and more of their business online and we simply have to move forward to enable them to offer their own customers a superior service” explained Tommy O’Neill. “The TietoEnator Mortgage Sales Portal will allow us to significantly reduce the time taken to process a mortgage and enable introducers to access and track each application online.”
Using TietoEnator’s Mortgage Sales Portal, the introducer will access the Progressive website and complete the details required to produce an online KFI in real time. The introducer can then progress immediately to the application stage, again completing all the documentation online. Once submitted, the application information will pass through into the existing TietoEnator mortgage administration system without having to be re-keyed either at the branch or in Head Office.
“We will all benefit from the introduction of Mortgage Sales Portal” said Tommy O’Neill. “Introducers and customers will receive a faster, more efficient and accurate service and the Society will spend significantly less time on mortgage administration, allowing us the opportunity to grow our direct sales channel.”
Commenting on the contract with The Progressive Building Society, Richard Gammon, Managing Director, TietoEnator Financial Solutions UK said, “I’m delighted that Progressive has selected a TietoEnator front end to complement its existing TietoEnator infrastructure. Building Societies cannot afford to take a back seat when it comes to offering online services to introducers - very soon we’ll have a situation where the introducer will stop referring business to those societies that have not moved with the times.”
“We looked at a number of systems and found them to be broadly similar, but we selected the TietoEnator system because it offers us a true straight through process and integrates seamlessly with our existing TietoEnator infrastructure” said Tommy O’Neill, Head of IT, Progressive Building Society.
The majority of Progressive mortgages are introduced rather than directly sold to the customer and it is therefore imperative that the Society offers the best possible service to its introducers. “Many of our introducers are expecting to do more and more of their business online and we simply have to move forward to enable them to offer their own customers a superior service” explained Tommy O’Neill. “The TietoEnator Mortgage Sales Portal will allow us to significantly reduce the time taken to process a mortgage and enable introducers to access and track each application online.”
Using TietoEnator’s Mortgage Sales Portal, the introducer will access the Progressive website and complete the details required to produce an online KFI in real time. The introducer can then progress immediately to the application stage, again completing all the documentation online. Once submitted, the application information will pass through into the existing TietoEnator mortgage administration system without having to be re-keyed either at the branch or in Head Office.
“We will all benefit from the introduction of Mortgage Sales Portal” said Tommy O’Neill. “Introducers and customers will receive a faster, more efficient and accurate service and the Society will spend significantly less time on mortgage administration, allowing us the opportunity to grow our direct sales channel.”
Commenting on the contract with The Progressive Building Society, Richard Gammon, Managing Director, TietoEnator Financial Solutions UK said, “I’m delighted that Progressive has selected a TietoEnator front end to complement its existing TietoEnator infrastructure. Building Societies cannot afford to take a back seat when it comes to offering online services to introducers - very soon we’ll have a situation where the introducer will stop referring business to those societies that have not moved with the times.”
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Monday, March 12, 2007
Portman to make 500 redundancies
Portman says it expects to make nearly 500 staff redundant as a result of the merger with Nationwide.
The society will close its administration offices based in Wolverhampton, and says it is likely that the 250 staff who work there will lose their jobs.
The society also anticipates that there will be more redundancies in its Bournemouth offices.
Despite there being 1,100 people working there at present it expects this will fall to 850.
Portman has revealed that it is in the process of distributing approximately 1.2 million merger booklet packs in advance of the Portman annual general meeting, which is to be held on April 23 2007.
Following the announcement, on September 12 2006, of the proposal to merge Nationwide and Portman, the boards of the two societies are now able to communicate further details.
The Portman merger booklet pack will cover, AGM resolutions and voting, proposed merger process and rationale, bonus details for qualifying Portman members and information for Portman savers and borrowers.
Robert Sharpe, chief executive of Portman, says: "Merging two of the largest and most successful building societies will create a mutual of impressive strength and size in the UK retail mortgage and savings market.
“I believe this is a great deal for Portman members. They will enjoy an ongoing interest in the enlarged society and will benefit from a greatly increased branch network spanning the country.
“They will also have access to a wider range of attractively priced products, together with more comprehensive telephone and internet banking services.
“Qualifying members will receive a pre-tax merger bonus of between £200 and £1,000, if they are a saver, and £200 if they are a borrower."
Graham Beale, chief executive designate of Nationwide, says: "We believe that Nationwide has a great deal to offer the members of Portman.
“The enlarged society, with its strong commitment to mutuality, will be in an even stronger position to deliver real value to its members through better product pricing and excellent service.
“As the UK's largest mutual we continue to provide a compelling alternative to the big retail banks."
The society will close its administration offices based in Wolverhampton, and says it is likely that the 250 staff who work there will lose their jobs.
The society also anticipates that there will be more redundancies in its Bournemouth offices.
Despite there being 1,100 people working there at present it expects this will fall to 850.
Portman has revealed that it is in the process of distributing approximately 1.2 million merger booklet packs in advance of the Portman annual general meeting, which is to be held on April 23 2007.
Following the announcement, on September 12 2006, of the proposal to merge Nationwide and Portman, the boards of the two societies are now able to communicate further details.
The Portman merger booklet pack will cover, AGM resolutions and voting, proposed merger process and rationale, bonus details for qualifying Portman members and information for Portman savers and borrowers.
Robert Sharpe, chief executive of Portman, says: "Merging two of the largest and most successful building societies will create a mutual of impressive strength and size in the UK retail mortgage and savings market.
“I believe this is a great deal for Portman members. They will enjoy an ongoing interest in the enlarged society and will benefit from a greatly increased branch network spanning the country.
“They will also have access to a wider range of attractively priced products, together with more comprehensive telephone and internet banking services.
“Qualifying members will receive a pre-tax merger bonus of between £200 and £1,000, if they are a saver, and £200 if they are a borrower."
Graham Beale, chief executive designate of Nationwide, says: "We believe that Nationwide has a great deal to offer the members of Portman.
“The enlarged society, with its strong commitment to mutuality, will be in an even stronger position to deliver real value to its members through better product pricing and excellent service.
“As the UK's largest mutual we continue to provide a compelling alternative to the big retail banks."
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Temenos adds 41 new clients in 2006, secures prime position in IBS Sales League Table
Temenos Group (SWX: TEMN), the provider of integrated core banking systems, today announced that IBS Publishing has ranked Temenos T24™ (T24) in second place in its Sales League Table 2006 in the universal banking category. Take up for T24 saw a 25% increase in 2006 with 40 new clients, giving it a customer-base of 440 banks in this category, the largest of any core banking product. The report also records one sale of Temenos™ CoreBanking (TCB) with a retail client base of 79.
Temenos has appeared in the top two positions of the league table for eight of the last nine years. Andreas Andreades, CEO, Temenos, says: “Our consistency in serving our industry over the past 10 years has been recognised with our placing in the IBS league report. I personally want to thank all our clients that have placed their trust in us for their commitment and support. The strong revenues yielded from our growing raft of tier 1 and 2 wins ensure that we’re able to invest 20% of turnover in R a higher rate than any of our competitors. That we can then roll out this rich functionality to our entire client base gives us our unique business model.”
During the past two years, Temenos has announced eight tier 1 wins with banks such as Deutsche Bank, Fortis and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation.
Having the largest client base across all banking verticals has put Temenos in the best position to launch Temenos Model Bank in 2006. Temenos Model Bank delivers T24 with mostly pre-configured, pre-parametered features and incorporates a global best practice standard that achieves 50% lower implementation time frames. Temenos Model Bank and the associated implementation methodology minimises customisation, reduces costs and also brings tighter controls over project scope and deliverables. The overall result is a quick and safe implementation.
T24 is a functionally rich, thin client, scalable, integrated, modular banking system. It is built on open service oriented architecture, and uses established technology standards such as HTTP, XML and HTML. It offers a single client view across the enterprise and can support large numbers of users with true non-stop resilience. Its fully-integrated architecture enables it to offer a significant cost advantage compared to other competing products. It offers multiple application server support and is the only system available with no end-of-day batch processing and so can genuinely boast of providing real-time 24/7 non-stop banking.
TCB is a modern, scalable retail banking platform that is capable of handling mass-scale business volumes of the very largest banks worldwide. It offers all the functionality required by operations on this scale, but at a greatly reduced cost of transactions and operations compared with other, less efficient solutions. Above all, TCB is a multi-bank system in a single software image that enables banks to develop new products across many channels quickly and cost-effectively.
Temenos has appeared in the top two positions of the league table for eight of the last nine years. Andreas Andreades, CEO, Temenos, says: “Our consistency in serving our industry over the past 10 years has been recognised with our placing in the IBS league report. I personally want to thank all our clients that have placed their trust in us for their commitment and support. The strong revenues yielded from our growing raft of tier 1 and 2 wins ensure that we’re able to invest 20% of turnover in R a higher rate than any of our competitors. That we can then roll out this rich functionality to our entire client base gives us our unique business model.”
During the past two years, Temenos has announced eight tier 1 wins with banks such as Deutsche Bank, Fortis and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation.
Having the largest client base across all banking verticals has put Temenos in the best position to launch Temenos Model Bank in 2006. Temenos Model Bank delivers T24 with mostly pre-configured, pre-parametered features and incorporates a global best practice standard that achieves 50% lower implementation time frames. Temenos Model Bank and the associated implementation methodology minimises customisation, reduces costs and also brings tighter controls over project scope and deliverables. The overall result is a quick and safe implementation.
T24 is a functionally rich, thin client, scalable, integrated, modular banking system. It is built on open service oriented architecture, and uses established technology standards such as HTTP, XML and HTML. It offers a single client view across the enterprise and can support large numbers of users with true non-stop resilience. Its fully-integrated architecture enables it to offer a significant cost advantage compared to other competing products. It offers multiple application server support and is the only system available with no end-of-day batch processing and so can genuinely boast of providing real-time 24/7 non-stop banking.
TCB is a modern, scalable retail banking platform that is capable of handling mass-scale business volumes of the very largest banks worldwide. It offers all the functionality required by operations on this scale, but at a greatly reduced cost of transactions and operations compared with other, less efficient solutions. Above all, TCB is a multi-bank system in a single software image that enables banks to develop new products across many channels quickly and cost-effectively.
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Friday, March 09, 2007
Britannia and EBS to launch Irish mortgage JV
Britannia is in advanced talks with Irish mutual EBS to set up a new full service joint venture focussing on the Irish mortgage intermediary market.
The plans entail combining the award-winning expertise of Platform, the intermediary lender of Britannia, with EBS's strong reputation and sales network in Ireland.
Both societies see brokers taking a bigger share of the residential mortgage market in Ireland, as they have in the UK, and see significant opportunities for growth in the broker market.
Britannia Group chief executive Neville Richardson says the proposed JV was an exciting prospect for Britannia, as it would be the first time the Group had operated in residential mortgage markets outside the UK.
He says: "This has the potential to be a very successful and profitable venture for both parties, adding significant value for Britannia's members in the UK and EBS's members in Ireland. EBS shares similar values to Britannia and is very strong in the Irish market. The venture will allow us to exploit Platform's renowned expertise in serving the intermediary sector in a completely new market.”
EBS chief executive Ted McGovern says Britannia's success in the UK intermediary market made it the perfect partner for EBS.
He adds: “In Britannia we see both complementary capabilities and, being a committed mutual like ourselves, a very compatible business philosophy, ethos and values.
“EBS has just completed a successful first full year in the broker market. We believe that, going forward, this channel will account for an even bigger proportion of the overall residential mortgage market in Ireland.
"In order to fully avail of these opportunities I am delighted to confirm that EBS and Britannia Building Society are in advanced discussions to create a joint venture which will serve this market.”
The joint venture will leverage EBS' local market knowledge, established distribution presence and reputation as well as Britannia's experience of intermediary channels.
Discussions have opened with the Irish Financial Regulator and, subject to regulatory approval, the JV is expected to be in operation in the second half of the year.
The plans entail combining the award-winning expertise of Platform, the intermediary lender of Britannia, with EBS's strong reputation and sales network in Ireland.
Both societies see brokers taking a bigger share of the residential mortgage market in Ireland, as they have in the UK, and see significant opportunities for growth in the broker market.
Britannia Group chief executive Neville Richardson says the proposed JV was an exciting prospect for Britannia, as it would be the first time the Group had operated in residential mortgage markets outside the UK.
He says: "This has the potential to be a very successful and profitable venture for both parties, adding significant value for Britannia's members in the UK and EBS's members in Ireland. EBS shares similar values to Britannia and is very strong in the Irish market. The venture will allow us to exploit Platform's renowned expertise in serving the intermediary sector in a completely new market.”
EBS chief executive Ted McGovern says Britannia's success in the UK intermediary market made it the perfect partner for EBS.
He adds: “In Britannia we see both complementary capabilities and, being a committed mutual like ourselves, a very compatible business philosophy, ethos and values.
“EBS has just completed a successful first full year in the broker market. We believe that, going forward, this channel will account for an even bigger proportion of the overall residential mortgage market in Ireland.
"In order to fully avail of these opportunities I am delighted to confirm that EBS and Britannia Building Society are in advanced discussions to create a joint venture which will serve this market.”
The joint venture will leverage EBS' local market knowledge, established distribution presence and reputation as well as Britannia's experience of intermediary channels.
Discussions have opened with the Irish Financial Regulator and, subject to regulatory approval, the JV is expected to be in operation in the second half of the year.
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