John Webster, chief executive officer of Swift, has claimed that two-thirds of lenders who were forced out of the market by the credit crunch will not return and the market will be run by those who remain most active.
Webster said: “Five or six lenders have pulled out, which leaves about eight lenders that are still active. This is all down to funding. Come the New Year, things will start to open up again but the best you can do until then is to see what happens.
Webster also claimed that brokers needed to look at second charge options as many offered secured loans but a lot have unrealised options. A recent report by Datamonitor claimed that the industry was worth around £7 billion and would be pushing towards £9-10 billion in a few years’ time.
Webster said: “Any loan over £25,000 is currently not regulated but next April that is abolished and regulation serves to any limit. Brokers can work within it without worrying about regulation as they can work with a master broker who can take the pressure of them.”
Zac Mace, director at Seconds2seconds.com, said: “The market is quietly optimistic. You’ll see balance sheet lenders sit on their hands to see what’s happening. A lot of people feel that security in second charge is good but investors realise that the UK market is a pretty solid beast.”
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