Since TMA’s agreement with AToM aimed at giving members access to a range of exclusive products including complex prime deals back in mid-June, the mortgage club has noted that enquiries have risen steadily on a monthly basis. The TMA mortgage desk reports that roughly one-in-four enquiries are now directly related to complex prime products.
AToM’s complex prime offering arms TMA members with an alternative opportunity to place business that may otherwise be declined due to lenders ‘credit scoring’ DIP systems. As part of the agreement TMA members can utilise AToM’s online DIP and case tracking facilities backed by an experienced sales support team to help directly authorised brokers source their options.
Phil Whitehouse, head of TMA, commented: “It’s increasingly evident that brokers are struggling to place the growing number of non-standard borrowers who are failing lenders credit scoring. The ‘computer says no’ attitude to credit scoring has been highlighted in the press recently and with some just cause.
“It’s important that we support brokers and their clients in this area as many have a good, clean credit history and can prove affordability. This is not to say automated systems don’t have their benefits but the amount of good quality business which is regularly being rejected could have some serious implications for the wider market if this trend continues.
“Fortunately there are still lenders who want to do business with low scoring creditworthy customers and it is up to us to ensure that brokers have access to such deals for their clients.”
Dale Jannels, sales & marketing director at AToM, added: “Since launching with TMA, we’ve been able to help numerous intermediaries place their customers’ business that high street lenders credit scoring systems had previously declined. Just because the computer says no, does not mean a customer can’t have a mortgage. Non-credit scoring lenders not only have an appetite to lend and a positive approach to getting deals through but they will also consider complex applications that need ‘thinking’ about.”
