Following a nine month consultation period with the IFS, the Association of Bridging Professionals (AOBP) is confident that advisers will be able to sit the examination in late spring 2015.
Answering questions at the Association of Short Term Lenders conference, Blackwell said the regulator would endorse the development of a bridging qualification and described it as a ‘good initiative’.
The syllabus will be developed by the IFS with the support of bridging lenders, advisers, trade associations and compliance experts and will be paid for by bridging lenders and the industry’s trade bodies.
Rob Jupp, chief executive of Brightstar Financial and chairman of the AOBP, said: “As an industry we are aware of the higher cost of short-term lending and therefore the potential for the product to carry an increased risk.
“It is our belief that this qualification will enhance the skills and knowledge of advisers which will result in customers being treated more fairly that they have been historically.”
While the qualification is primarily for advisers, Jupp said the AOBP would urge lenders and their staff to also sit the exam.
One of his main concerns is the knowledge gap in the market arising from advisers who only complete one bridging loan a year.
“It’s a very complex market. Brokers who don’t deal with bridging finance as their main source of business may not fully understand the product, but with the support of a qualification in bridging that would change.”
Bridging lender Hope Capital, a supporter of the qualification, shared Jupp’s concerns about inexperienced advisers.
“A lot of brokers may only dip their toe in the bridging finance market with limited knowledge of how the products can help borrowers and how they are structured,” said chief executive Jonathan Sealey.
“A broker qualification would raise awareness of its many uses, improve the quality of packaging and result in shorter timescales for the borrower. But what I would say is that solicitors need educating as much as brokers. Many delays are caused by solicitors who don’t understand the bridging market.”
The IFS said it was too early to release any details about the content of the qualification.
But a spokesman said: “As the leading provider of professional qualifications for the mortgage industry, the Institute of Financial Services – the professional body of IFS University College – is always keen to explore and discuss new ways of increasing professional standards in the sector. As such, it regularly works and consults with like-minded associations and organisations who share this common goal.”
