Malone announced his retirement from the business last week and will leave the company in early December.
Malone has had over 40 years experience in the financial services industry, encompassing domestic and commercial mortgage lending, insurance and pension sales and marketing, plus estate agency, and latterly creating the current business model PMS (Premier Mortgage Service) – a mortgage facilitator/distributor for directly authorised intermediaries.
Malone told Mortgage Introducer: “I’m going to be 70 this year and it’s time to hang up my hat in this particular position. The mortgage and financial services market has been kind to me over the years and I do feel that I’ve made a positive contribution. I’ve seen plenty of changes over the years and I feel I’m going to be leaving PMS in a very strong position as the biggest introducer of mortgages in the UK.”
Alan Cleary, managing director of Precise Mortgages, said: "John was the first distributor I met when I became head of sales at BM Solutions and I remember it vividly - despite it being 12 years ago.
"John has made a great contribution to the intermediary mortgage market and will be missed."
And Michael Bolton, a close friend of Malone and now managing director of Clayton Euro Risk, added: “Throughout his career John has demonstrated the creation and innovation to ensure that wherever he has worked he has provided excellent services and benefits to those companies and organisations that he, at the time, was working with, to ensure they were in a prime position and leading edge within their respective markets.”
And he added: “The mortgage market will not be the same without him although I’m sure he won’t be that far away – even in retirement.”
Malone’s retirement is not unexpected. With nearly 50 years service it’s been rumoured for some time.
HISTORY
Malone’s initial position when moving to Scotland (Glasgow) as manager for Cedar Holdings (1969) enabled him to develop a number of services to ensure that the business volumes previously being achieved were, for a five year period (1974), comparable to that being achieved in England – bearing in mind the difference in population and home ownership.
During 1974/75 the first major recession resulted in many small to medium sized banks requiring Bank of England assistance (the first Lifeboat form of funding). With this situation affecting lending and the property market, Malone moved his career and worked for one of the Scottish life assurance companies namely FS Assurance (previously known as Forman & Staff).
Throughout the 15 years at FS, Malone introduced a variety of procedures and services to assist both his company and intermediaries in a way that additional business could be written for both organisations.
During this time he created the first mortgage desk for intermediaries in West Scotland, helping in the placement of mortgages (1979).
He assisted Bank of Scotland Mortgages in developing their mortgage proposition into the insurance sector, with a six months exclusivity contract (early 80’s)
He brokered the first insurance based top-up facility to purchase price for a group of mortgage intermediaries in the new build sector (Salveson Homes, Brossley, Wimpey). This enabled the life company to write non profit business on the back on the monies lent with a guarantee in place should there be a short-fall on a re-sale.
At this point Malone had decided to move on his career and took on a directorship in the largest estate agency business throughout Scotland, namely Slater Hogg & Howison.
His primary function was financial services director within the estate agency and his job was to manage the 55 financial advisers, bearing in mind that although the mortgage element was not regulated, the insurance sales were, through the current regulator of the time Fimbra.
Alone completely reformatted the personnel within the first six months and thereafter worked with an advisory sales force of 35 ensuring they all achieved the required qualifications (CeMap 1, 2 & 3), and throughout the first few years he introduced a robust audit compliant sales process for both company, client and sales person.
He also introduced a standard insurance proposal form for 16 life companies for low cost endowments (those companies being the likes of Standard Life, Scottish Amicable, General Accident, Commercial Union, Friends Provident, Legal & General, Scottish Provident, Scottish Widows etc)
He also introduced a bespoke payment and marketing facility for a network of chartered surveyors ensuring they were paid on a certain date of each month for their work and creating a bi-monthly conference which formed part of their CPD.
And he introduced a variety of incentives and payment schemes for both estate agency and financial services personnel which still forms part of many businesses in today’s market.
And in another coup he introduced the first proc fee arrangement in 1989/90 with Halifax for mortgage intermediaries.
Slater Hogg & Howison were purchased in 1988 by TSB Scotland and together with their other similar estate agency acquisitions in England by TSB Retail, Malone became a board member of TSB Property services in 1992. Responsible for a staff of 1600 and part of a board team of 6 reporting to the Chief Executive of TSB Commercial.
With the TSB looking to change the structure whereby the financial advisers were at that time dealing with the whole of market (lenders, and life companies) to become ARs of TSB Malone decided at that time his talents were best elsewhere.
From here he established Premier Mortgage Service with Scottish Amicable and bearing in mind PMS as it is now branded has been owned by a number of life companies, such as Prudential, Skandia (acquired by Bankhall), Old Mutual, and latterly Friends Provident as currently acquired by Sesame Group.
PMS has been since its inception in 1996 recognised as establishing a new business model as a distributor within the mortgage industry, achieving record business levels primarily down to its simplicity, consistent approach and relationships with both product providers and intermediaries.
A further addition to the business was made in June 2004 when the Norwich Union Mortgage Club, based in Birmingham, was integrated into PMS, further capitalising on their marketing and front line sales expertise.
Although many have tried to copy the format, it is the expertise, knowledge and integrity of the staff within PMS which have ensured that this business model has not only survived through the regulatory changes that have taken place, but throughout the very difficult recessionary periods that all elements of the mortgage industry has encountered from 2007 – 2010.
Malone was also a member of the Mortgage Code Compliance Board (MCCB), where he designed and introduced the sales documentation for all intermediaries in 1997/98. These procedures and processes were sent out in Malone’s name to over 40,000 mortgage intermediaries registered with the MCCB, and to this day some of this documentation has been adopted by the current regulator the FSA.
Malone is recognised as an excellent communicator and has attended and spoken at many seminars, chaired many conferences as he was instrumental in establishing the mortgage event roadshows and equity release roadshows for Incisive Media (Mortgage Solutions).
