The intermediary arm of Stroud & Swindon Building Society has decided to expand in order to
capitalise on the trend of consumers overpaying on their mortgages due to plunging interest rates.
Linda Will, sales and marketing director at ITL Mortgages, said that the increased inflow of savings in recent months has led it to send a submission to its board to increase its lending.
She added: “We see the trend of people making mortgage overpayments continuing. Lenders are increasing their deposits, so it would be insane not to lend out the increased savings we are receiving. We are concentrating on designing the product so that we have some pipeline for 2010 completions.”
Alan Lakey, partner at Highclere Financial Services, said it was good news for brokers that an
intermediary lender has expressed a desire to lend more.
He added: “Many lenders are being very restrictive in the market at present, with low LTVs and
high rates, so an entrant increasing its market share is positive news. ITL may need to be more innovative and flexible in its offering to attract more of the market.”
Simon Webster, managing director of Facts & Figures, said more lenders and easier-to-access
products were needed in the property market as it had stagnated due to the unavailability of credit.
He said: “People cannot buy houses because lenders have such restrictive criteria. If lenders
are prepared to enter the market, they must relax their criteria, because a buoyant property market is important.”
