Marc Turner, head of sales at branded lending firm Abacus Permanent, believes the role of packagers in the regulated environment will diminish, forcing some packagers to look to other channels.
“Packagers will eventually have to review their place in the market,” he said. “Simply packaging and doing the administration for a mortgage case may not be enough – lenders will now undoubtedly be looking for more. Packagers will have to start to offer a wider service and may find branded lending is the route to go into.”
He added: “Packagers with strong existing relationships with lenders will find it easier to move across into this field. If you are already packaging for a particular lender you have more of a chance of building a foundation to do branded lending with that lender.”
John Mawdsley, director of packager firm The Mortgage Partnership, commented: “It’s certainly crossed my mind to do branded lending as an additional service as it would be a natural extension of what we already do.
“Packagers can now add broader propositions and branded lending could be one of these but I wouldn’t say it’s the answer for everyone.
“Ultimately do these branded lending firms deliver any greater advantages than the lender? Are they providing a mortgage offer quicker than the lender and are they providing the KFI? If not, then I would have to question their validity.”
Abacus confirmed brokers can get KFIs from its own website and the sourcing systems.
