Taylor has previously worked for specialist lenders Precise Mortgages and Ocean Finance and said Afin Bank’s bespoke approach to borrowers attracted her to the role.
All Afin Bank’s mortgages are individually underwritten because the lender supports borrowers who can struggle to get a mortgage from a mainstream lender, such as high-net-worth (HNW) customers, the self-employed and workers with non-standard incomes, as well as foreign nationals working in the UK on a valid work visa.
She said: “More and more lenders are taking the automated route, and that takes a lot of work away from skilled underwriters.
“With Afin, cases can be more complicated, so that gets your brain working, but it also gives you a sense of achievement when you can help a borrower.”
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Overcoming barriers
Afin Bank was set up in July last year with a focus on helping the African diaspora, foreign nationals and self-employed individuals overcome the barriers to getting a mortgage. Its products require minimum UK residency of only six months and no minimum credit score is needed.
In a survey last week, it found that over half of African nationals – especially in healthcare industries – in the UK on work visas feel that they are financially excluded, with some saying this would lead to them wanting to leave the UK.
Swaraj Dada, head of credit for Afin Bank, said Taylor’s experience would help the company to deal with complex cases.
“Lisa has a wealth of experience handling complex cases and specialist lending, making her a strong addition to our underwriting team.
“We serve a broad and diverse customer base, from mainstream UK residents through to diaspora borrowers, supporting their needs whether they are first-time buyers, professionals, the self-employed or high-net-worth clients with more complex needs. That means we need an underwriting team that can provide the right level of expertise and support, whatever a borrower’s circumstances,” Dada added.
Afin Bank has been growing its team, recently bringing on Anum Mahmood as national key account manager and Stuart Benge as senior business development manager (BDM).
