The programme is set to be launched later this year and aims to educate professionals in the commercial property finance sector on parts of the market such as bridging, short-term finance, development finance and specialist buy to let.
The associations are working with the London Institute of Banking and Finance (LIBF) to create a series of optional e-learning modules. The modules will be recognised with the award of an LIBF digital badge and accredited for CPD.
The topics for the modules include:
- Overview of specialist property finance
- Basic knowledge of the constitution of a business – PLC, LLP, Sole Trader etc.
- Basic lending structures
- Risk and regulation
- Other parties involved in a specialist property finance transaction
- Bridging loans
- Development finance
- Commercial finance
- Buy-to-let mortgages
- The practical application of specialist property finance
The desired outcomes of the programme are to raise professional standards within the specialist property finance industry, improve understanding of the roles played by brokers, lenders and other professionals throughout the life of a loan, and provide agreed levels of knowledge set by the industry.
It also aims to ensure those who complete the programme will be able to explain and define different terms within the specialist property finance space, including how it fits within the wider mortgage sector.
The programme will help ensure that candidates are able to define and explain different fundamentals of specialist property finance, including how it fits within the wider mortgage sector, and to identify and develop key learner skills.
FIBA and the ASTL are currently appointing authors for each of the modules in preparation for the launch at the ASTL Annual Conference in London on 20 October.
Vic Jannels, CEO at the ASTL, said he was looking forward to launching the programme later this year.
He added: “We have been working alongside our colleagues at FIBA for over a year now to build support and plan the details for such a programme, and being able to confirm the framework is an important milestone.
“We believe that the outcomes of the programme will provide advisers with a more holistic understanding of the whole process and make the borrowing experience more comfortable, and less mysterious, for consumers.”
He said the association would not insist that its members only work with lenders who have completed the programme, or that brokers should only work with lender employees who have done the course but added: “We want to encourage engagement across the industry, not just as a one-off participation, but as part of an ongoing environment of continuing learning.”
Adam Tyler, executive chairman at FIBA, said: “Confirming this framework is, I believe, an important moment for our industry. I have been involved in education for our sector for many years and this programme is successfully building upon a previous groundwork to deliver a collaborative initiative that is recognised as the definitive learning programme for commercial property finance.
“Working in conjunction with the ASTL and the London Institute of Banking and Finance, we have now developed the essential framework for the programme and we are now appointing authors for the modules, which will help us to deliver the right outcomes to participants, and ultimately to customers.”
