Brightstar worked with the SimplyBiz Consumer Credit Centre to put its application together which it said resulted in the process moving more quickly than it expected.
The FCA took over control of the consumer credit regime in April last year which meant that any firm which held a Consumer Credit Licence granted by the Office of Fair Trading, formerly in charge of the sector, had to reapply to the FCA to continue trading before the end of March next year.
An added pressure for second-charge firms emerged from the Mortgage Credit Directive which included authorisation requirements for consumer buy-to-let applications and the need to apply for some mortgage permissions depending on the type of business they conducted.
Its new permissions allow it to carry out credit broking, debt adjusting and debt counselling for second-charge mortgages and consumer buy to let. It has applied for mortgage permissions which it expects to be in place ahead of the MCD deadline of 21 March.
Bradley Moore, Brightstar’s director of second-charge loans and one of the firm’s founders, said: “As a business we always strive to excel in everything we do and I am extremely pleased that our authorisation has not only been achieved but that it has been achieved so quickly. Achieving FCA authorisation is just one more step on our ever evolving journey.”
