Together reassures brokers of stability in wake of Brexit

by: Carmen Reichman
  • 30/06/2016
  • 0
Together reassures brokers of stability in wake of Brexit
Specialist lender Together has reassured brokers of its “strong financial position” and “committed funding channels” six days after a historic referendum saw the UK move a step closer to exiting the European Union, causing upheaval in financial markets.

In a statement from its commercial chief executive Marc Goldberg (pictured), Together told brokers it is committed to working in partnership with them to deal with any temporary fallout from the referendum.

“Whilst it’s too early to understand the resulting impact the Brexit vote is going to have on the UK economy, we want to reassure our broker partners that we’re committed to supporting them in overcoming any potential hurdles, so that we come through this transitional period working together, just as we’ve always done.” said Goldberg.

On 23 June the British public voted for an exit of the country from the European Union and as a likely consequence, from the European single market, triggering a period of uncertainty and market volatility.

Lenders had drawn criticism from advisers in the wake of the referendum for staying silent on the issue and failing to reassure the industry they could cope with the repercussions of the Brexit vote.

Robin Purdie, director at Mov8 Financial, had told Mortgage Solutions: “We’ve not had a single piece of correspondence from the lenders whatsoever, but from what I gather speaking to other brokers that seems to be across the board. Even just for general case-related queries it wasn’t particularly easy to get hold of any BDMs on Friday.”

Similarly, director Mark Dyason, director at Edinburgh Mortgage Advice, had also received no direct communication from lenders.

“There’s still a little bit of shock among all of us and everyone looking at each other wondering ‘what’s next’. The country needs some leadership first of all before we can even decide which direction we’re going to take,” he said.

He added: “I think it’s fine for lenders to take a pause as the news sinks in, but I would expect banks to release some sort of statement really by the end of the week.”

Together said it was too early to confirm whether the firm was considering adapting its product range in a post-Brexit market or how product prices would be affected.

It would only say the firm’s strong financial position put it in “good stead for facing any challenges that may arise as a result of the vote to leave”.

But other lenders were quicker to act. Precise already said on 27 June it planned to launch a lower-priced fixed-rate range to take advantage of a fall in five and 10-year swap rates following the vote to leave the EU.

The fixed rates would be added to first and second charge mortgages as well as buy to let, but pricing levels had yet to be finalised, it said.

Together is a specialist lender to niche markets offering short-term finance, auction finance, residential and commercial mortgages and secured loans.

The firm has a loan book of £1.7bn, with new lending for the 12 months to March 2016 standing at £971m.

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