UCB Home Loans has launched a fully underwritten online agreement in principle (AIP) service which has been piloted among introducers for the past two months and is now live on the lender’s website.
Tony Jones, head of business development at UCB, said: ‘It is not a standard service with the usual facilities such as credit checking as ours is fully underwritten. Usually if you apply online, no-one actually looks at it, whereas with our service we ensure an underwriter checks it.’
Before an agreement is made, UCB will assess income, lending criteria and check a customer’s credit. Enquiries placed before 3pm will receive a decision on the same day.
The service uses an online application form, which provides UCB with all the information required to make a lending decision. Jones added: ‘Introducers have a choice of how to receive confirmation of the AIP. After emailing their application they can choose to receive a response by email, fax or phone.’
One of the benefits of the online service is that it saves intermediaries time. Charles Reed, managing director at UCB, said: ‘The new AIP system provides intermediaries with access to a fast online decision, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It is extremely easy to use and we can usually provide a fully checked and underwritten agreement within two hours.’
‘Clients details remain confidential, as the service is fully encrypted via a secure section of the UCB website,’ he added.
For more information log on to www.ucbhomeloans.co.uk
