Title insurance, which is common in the US on residential mortgages and already adopted in the UK by SPML, insures the client against faulty title deeds. Searches are still completed with the land registry, but the outcome has no bearing on the lender’s risk
The pilot has been running for one month through selected broker firms and covers clients, at no extra cost, which can speed up the loan processing to an average of eight days, said Stephen Johnson, sales & marketing director, Commercial First, against an average turnaround of three to four weeks.
“It’s something we’re keen to push, but we want make sure it works in practice,” said Johnson.
“The quality of solicitors varies massively and certainly, some brokers are better than others as well, which is why we want to make sure we provide the best service we can at our end,” he said.
The lender, which launched in December 2002, is set to announce its first securitisation in association with Barclays in the middle of March, worth £132.5 million and almost its entire portfolio.
Philip George, managing director, said he believed Commercial First had only achieved 15 per cent market penetration with another £8-£10 billion still to capture.
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