Starting us off were Foxtons’ recent results, which showed the estate agency group’s financial services arm, Alexander Hall, had suffered a fall in revenue because of a prevalence of product transfer activity in Q3.
Nationwide deciding to increase the interest-free loan offered to homeowners making energy-efficient changes to their homes from £5,000 to £20,000 was also announced this week, marking the mutual’s commitment to helping people improve the quality of their houses.
Also this week came the retirement of Mark Collar, who retired as Leeds Building Society’s national intermediary distribution manager after 10 years with the lender and 35 years in the mortgage sector. He looked back on how things had changed over his career, as well as the ingrained practices that make the mortgage sector what it is.
Then, Rachel Edwards from the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries (AMI) and Chloe Hylton of Horde appeared on the Diversity and Inclusivity Finance Forum (DIFF) to discuss their lived experiences of people of mixed heritage with paler skin. The conversation turned to the concepts of white-passing, light skinned privilege and having to prove one’s ethnicity.
Lastly came findings from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which reviewed non-bank mortgage lenders. It found that lenders were mostly good at assessing risk appetite, but there was room for improvement when considering how to wind a lender down and what might happen if funding sources collapse.
Mind over mortgages: why we need to look after intermediaries’ mental health
Sponsored by Halifax Intermediaries
Foxtons’ 4% fall in financial services revenue caused by rise in low-value PT activity
Time to retire and reflect on 35 years in the mortgage industry – Collar
DIFF podcast: Pale skin ‘privilege’, passing and feeling excluded
Non-bank mortgage lenders show good risk management but lack wind down planning, FCA finds