The qualifications’ details were announced to delegates at the NACFB annual general meeting on 11 November by Gary Milner, corporate relations and communications director at ifs.
The NACFB diploma consists of three ifs units: commercial mortgages; measuring performance; and lending and securities. ifs said ‘it offers a flexible and portable distance learning education solution which provides students with the essential skills and broad knowledge base needed by those wishing to excel in the dynamic world of commercial finance’.
The NACFB was founded in 1992 in response to an apparently increasing incidence of fraud. This formation brought together individuals who believed the establishment of measurable standards of proper professional practice in sourcing commercial funding could only benefit the commercial finance industry as a whole.
Mark Roberts, head of faculty financial regulation at ifs, said: “We’re delighted to be working with the NACFB on this diploma. It’s been developed to meet the needs of intermediaries who are looking in that direction to broaden the scope of their business.”
Thomas Reeh, chief executive of blackandwhite.co.uk, said anything that could build the broker knowledge base in commercial finance was good but warned a certificate on the wall does not replace the need for hands-on experience.
“Commercial lending may look simple on the surface but this is deceptive. It’s a very specialist area and there are a lot more variables. My advice is, unless you know what you’re doing, stick to what you know. Those who see it as a way of making a quick buck are mistaken. It requires an extended period to see a return – it’s taken blackandwhite.co.uk 18 months to become proficient,” he explained.
