The report, setting out its position regarding the lender-intermediary relationship, says this in no way reflects a desire on the part of lenders to undermine the role of intermediaries. It also stressed that high quality, impartial advice from intermediaries is more important than ever for borrowers.
The intermediary sector has been the mainstay of the growing UK mortgage market, helping foster choice for the consumer and encouraging innovation in terms of product design, pricing and service. IMLA remains committed to promoting the continued health and dynamism of the sector, which has a pivotal role to play in the gradual recovery of the current market and the ability of consumers to have ready access to a wide choice of products.
Peter Williams, IMLA’s executive director, said: “Given the growing dominance of the intermediary channel over recent years - with over 80% of mortgages introduced via brokers in the first quarter of 2008 - intermediary based sales are certain to return strongly, not least because of the benefit to consumers of providing a wider range of choice and enabling customers to choose based on high quality independent advice.
“As the need to bring added value to the intermediary proposition becomes more
important, we think we may see a shift in the reward structure with procuration fees playing a less prominent role and fees for advice becoming more important, with ever more emphasis upon high quality standards.”
