Speaking at the AMI annual dinner in London last night, Sinclair said broker numbers had fallen from around 30,000 at their peak to no more than 12,000 now, but that the firms that remained after the tumult of the past two years were the “good corporate citizens”.
Sinclair said: “We have had some members come and go because we can’t be in a no-failure regime. The only thing a trade body can say is let there be choice. We’ve seen a massive fall in broker numbers. That is a massive shift for any industry to cope with.”
In addition, he said that the mortgage market had gone from over 100 lenders to “only six of substance” which supported AMI’s work and it was vital for both sides to work together. He highlighted the “seminal” work AMI is doing with the CML and IMLA, which “will inform how the FSA see us and how we work together”.
However, he warned that the Mortgage Market Review will prove a “stern test” for the industry and said he hoped the FSA will “keep the faith” with intermediaries.
Sinclair said: “I’m seeing firms planning ahead now and looking at the future and how to get through the next six, nine and 12 months.”
He added: “We are also seeing new talent coming in, but I’m worried we have dropped the ball in bringing in new people to the industry. In the next 12 months, we must look at how to do that type of work again.”
