Three directors of the Mortgage Code Compliance Board (MCCB) are setting up a new trade body for brokers, only weeks after the announcement of another new intermediary body, the National Association of Mortgage Brokers and Advisers (NAMBA).
The latest trade body is being developed by Jim Gaskin, managing director of Exchange FS, Rob Clifford, managing director of mortgageforce, and David Seviour, franchise development director at Allied Dunbar, and will have no connections with the MCCB. The trio is aiming to launch the as yet unnamed body by late September and expect to gain a significant market position quickly.
Julian Jennings, chief executive designate of NAMBA, said he was keen to meet the representatives of the new body as soon as possible. ‘It is disappointing that they are thinking about going down this route. There is a school of thought that says there is room for two bodies, but this does not bring order and clarity to the marketplace. At the end of the day, these organisations are not set up for peoples’ own purpose ‘ it is for brokers and so if it is to be of benefit to brokers it might be better to sit down and discuss the two plans.’
A number of industry figures have also voiced their concern at this latest development and urged the two bodies to meet. Ray Boulger, senior technical manager at Charcol, said: ‘To go from no trade bodies for brokers to two in such a short space of time seems bizarre. It makes sense for brokers to have their own trade body, but I do not think many brokers would want to join both.’
Nick Baxter, director of Mortgage Promotions, agreed. He said: ‘There is no doubt the industry needs a representative body to lobby the regulators on the brokers behalf. But two could confuse rather than assist, and we could get back to the situation in the regulated arena with a number of bodies all claiming to represent advisers and the regulators do not know who to talk to.’
