John Rice, managing director of RAMP, said: “The CML figures for March show a fall of 19 per cent in lending overall against the same period in 2004.
“RAMP members’ performance, both in the month of March but crucially in the first quarter of 2005, shows what is possible when there is a forum such as RAMP where members can share ideas and resources.
“It is certainly no coincidence that RAMP members have experienced an increase in business in this most challenging of business environments. RAMP membership and the advantages which stem from it are clear for everyone to see.”
Mortgages plc, the UK residential lender and wholly-owned subsidiary of Merrill Lynch, welcomed the news and said it confirmed the emergence of a new breed of ‘super-packagers’ which were starting to dominate distribution in the non-conforming mortgage market.
Peter Beaumont, sales and marketing director at Mortgages plc, said: “Since ‘Mortgage Day’ we have seen a small number of ‘super-packagers’ or ‘super-distributors’ start to exert their authority in the packaging market.
“These companies include organisations such as Solent, Advantage Home Loans, The Finance Centre, Enterprise, Deep Blue, em-financial, Pink Home Loans, Optoma, The Mortgage Times, Oxygen Home Loans and Opus, all of whom are writing record volumes of new business.”
