Mortgage software services provider, The Exchange, is to add to its offering with the launch of a non-conforming mortgage packaging service on its Exweb portal.
The announcement comes at a time when many packagers are branching out into new areas such as technology and branded lending, in a bid to remain competitive.
Exweb Mortgage Packaging has been set up in conjunction with Marlborough Stirling Mortgage Services, the mortgage outsourcing company owned by The Exchange’s parent company, Marlborough Stirling.
The service will be open to users of the Exweb sourcing system who may not be able to place a mortgage through the 130 lenders already on the system. For non-conforming cases, mortgage advisers will be able to follow a link to the packaging service, or use a telephone-based mortgage placement desk for even more complex cases.
The new packaging component will offer advisers access to a panel of 12 lenders offering a range of non-conforming products ‘ including a number of exclusives ‘ such as sub-prime, self-certification and buy to let.
Sue Summers, managing director of The Exchange, said: ‘By specialising in the non-conforming sector, this packaging service will offer excellent value to an intermediary’s business. The straightforward cases are easy to place and do not present intermediaries with problems. It is the more complex cases that intermediaries need assistance with and it will add value by helping them place these cases quickly and efficiently.’
The Exch-ange is hoping the move will allow it to share in the lucrative non-standard market, estimated to be worth around £15bn, according to the latest report from market analyst, Datamonitor.
The addition of a packaging arm to its sourcing system is similar to Mortgage 2000, which has 14 lenders on its own packaging service, Mortgage 2000 Design & Processing. Sean Hornsby, sales and marketing director of Mortgage 2000,, warned competition among packagers was fierce and it was not easy to break into this market.
He said: ‘The Exchange will be competing with a lot of firmly established non-conforming packagers, but if it can persuade users to put non-conforming cases through its packager, it is creating a good revenue stream.’
However, Charles Ansdell, technical manager at intermediary firm Inter Alliance, is unsure whether such offerings will become popular.
He said: ‘As regulation increases, profit margins will fall, and companies that specialise will do better than those who try to offer everything.’
