The Regulatory Mortgage Packagers Alliance (RAMP) has announced the departure of Bill Warren as its director of associate members, having taken the decision to close its associate members arm and invite them to become full members.
Eddie Smith will also leave his position as managing director of the Professional Mortgage Packagers Alliance (PMPA).
PMPA chairman, Vic Jannels, said: “Eddie’s main role within the PMPA was to look at strategic developments within the market moving forward. Those opportunities and challenges have changed in recent times.
"The PMPA directors and members will now evaluate and manage ongoing strategy in the light of current market movements.”
Smith said: “Any packager that says it is not feeling the effects of the crunch is telling porkies. The alliances are no different.
"Many commentators would argue that lenders struggle to validate the need for exclusive products and pricing in the current climate.
"In fact, more lenders are inclined to deal with selected alliance members rather than every member as was once the case. This sort of selective member distribution within individual alliances will, in my opinion, become more and more the norm as lenders up the ante.”
Bill Warren, former director of associate members at RAMP, commented: “There are problems in the packaging industry, but there are problems in the whole mortgage market. More will emerge and there will be more consolidation and companies folding.”
However, packagers remain adamant they will survive the current market crisis.
Roger Morris, managing director of em-, said: “I wouldn’t say the market is in trouble; it’s in correction. At the moment, global markets are down on their appetite and associations and packagers are reducing their exposure to cost and utilising the experience of their executives. Those with the big problems are not the packagers.”
