Mass mortgage adviser exit slows to trickle in 2011
Mortgage Solutions | 16 Jan 2012 | 13:44
Kay McLellan
When I joined the financial services industry in 1978 there was a quarter-of-a-million financial advisers in the UK. From various sources today, there seems to be circa 24,000,000 homes in England and Wales. Please tell me how the current level of 10,000 mortgage practitioners can offer effective advice to the masses based on a ratio of 2,400:1?
Now, this is simple maths but the point is made that trained professionals are on the verge of extinction! Just to maintain a sensible balance, we need 100 times more advisers. If the government fails to assist the UK financial services industry to recruit and train advisers, we can wave good-bye to mortgage advice.
John
16 Jan 2012 | 14:20
I wouldn’t mind having 2,400 clients John! I might get a couple of completions that way rather than getting the old “Computer says no…..” that most lenders are throwing at me at the moment!
Kevin ‘T’ Gerbil
16 Jan 2012 | 14:53
John, I don’t want to worry you but it seems to me the avowed intent of the FSA is to decimate the professional adviser population so that eventually all clients will gravitate towards their friends – the bankers.
Ken
16 Jan 2012 | 14:57
I used to be an account manager for a life office until last year. Companies were going out of business left right and centre. I would always keep an eye out for the advisers I got on with to see if I could get them back on my panel, but very few re-appeared.
The comment about 100x more advisors as there are 24m homes is ridiculous. How many of those are owned by the government and landlords? How many of those homes don’t get sold? My grandparents for example have lived in their home for 40+ years. My dad has lived in his for about 12. Just because there are that many homes, doesn’t mean there are that many potential clients. The majority of advisers I know are struggling, the ones that aren’t have taken a hefty decrease in income. The market will decrease again this year I suspect.
Tony
17 Jan 2012 | 10:27
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NatWest cuts BDM team by half
Mortgage Solutions | 13 Jan 2012 | 12:15
Simret Samra
It is already a rare occasion to speak to a BDM and reducing these numbers will result in a further fall in service standards. A website is fine for normal cases which fit with any lender. As brokers, sometimes we get unusual cases and we need to check the criteria with a person as a website will not provide this information. They will only be happy when everybody uses the internet and nobody speaks to anyone. It will make more profit after all.
John Delve
16 Jan 2012 | 17:00
King: We should pay less attention to ratings agencies
Mortgage Solutions | 17 Jan 2012 | 15:09
Rahul Odedra
If I remember correctly, was it not the rating agencies that were heavily criticised by governments for rating mortgage backed securities as AAA when they were junk? It’s rather amusing now that agencies are doing the job correctly and its sovereigns that are in the firing line. Oh well, I suppose it different now that the shoe is on the other foot.
Martin S
17 Jan 2012 | 16:36
So it seems that if you don’t like what the rating agencies are saying, ignore them and use your judgement. This could be a new solution. But what are the chances the same common sense policies apply to customers showing demerit points on their credit score? No chance.
Joe Public has no chance for fairness with credit, whereas governments with less than great credit are to be classed as “worth a punt” using the pension and investment money of those same rejected punters – stinks really.
Chris Ridgeway
17 Jan 2012 | 16:39
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Why it may be time to sell protection on price
Mortgage Solutions | 17 Jan 2012 | 15:01
Roger Edwards
I can understand this article (particularly to defend Bright Grey’s launch of simplified cover) but I wouldn’t be recommending one until the efficacy of a crystal ball is proven.
Neither we nor our clients can predict that they will never benefit from access to a superb consultant nor need waiver, nor any of the other “Luxury” add-ons that these policies may exclude. They are often the difference at claim stage, rather than at point-of-sale stage.
Stuart Duncan
17 Jan 2012 | 17:48
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Shapps deals equity release lobby a blow
Mortgage Solutions | 18 Jan 2012 | 08:00
Vicky Hartley
Local and central government getting involved is a recipe for disaster. Almost everything touched by the bureaucratic hand of government is managed inefficiently and at massive cost.
You can bet your bottom dollar that the government will want a massive return on its investment of a few million pounds. I would advise all elderly homeowners to approach any solution offered by their local authority with a huge pinch of suspicion and cynicism.
Bill Wells
18 Jan 2012 | 09:31
The government should stop interfering in people’s lives. We have a five bedroom property for just the two of us, but when the children and grandchildren come it’s just adequate for all. Downsizing would mean a tent in the garden that’s if there is any garden with these smaller properties. Would the government please concentrate on doing their job and stop trying to nursemaid everyone.
Mike
18 Jan 2012 | 10:35
“Shapps engages with the elderly home owner issues” – I think this alternative headline is more on the mark. The Freespace scheme and the equity release market can go hand in hand. They are aimed at two entirely separate demographics, as quoted later on in the article by Peter Welch.
I see Shapps’ announcement as encouraging for SHIP’s lobbying as clearly the issue of elderly home ownership is fertile ground at present. Sorry Vicky, I think you got the headline wrong.
Richard Farr
18 Jan 2012 | 10:53
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This week’s start comment comes from Paul Lynch who gives us his thoughts on RBS’ chief excutive Stephen Hester’s £1.3m bonus offer.
This industry is totally out of touch with public opinion. At the start of this disaster we were being peddled the line that investment bankers must be paid huge amounts otherwise they’d leave to find another employer.
Now we’re being told that RBS are about to shed 2-3,000 jobs from their investment banking division. Should I sympathise when “clearly” they’ll pick up well-paying jobs elsewhere?
Paul Lynch
19 Jan 2012 | 11:13
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Thank you for all your comments
From the Mortgage Solutions team
