Bill Warren, CMLS

Both as an Association of Mortgage Intermediaries (AMI) insider – being a member of the AMI compliance forum and one of its regional chairs – and also as part of the intermediary community, my view is that AMI has done a fantastic job so far.

It has achieved an independent profile, a strong professional voice and effective representation for mortgage intermediaries. Three years ago, when I was working as part of the Mortgage Code Compliance Board’s (MCCB) own compliance team, there was no representation for intermediaries in the early discussions regarding Financial Services Authority’ (FSA) regulation – and AMI has completely turned this around. Special mention must be given to Chris Cummings’ outstanding knowledge, commitment, enthusiasm and passion in achieving this.

It is no exaggeration to say that AMI’s strength and quality of representation has saved mortgage intermediaries from external control and given them a strong position in any regulatory discussions with the FSA. For the future, I would like to see AMI develop further the technical and practical support that it gives as a trade body.

Andy Pratt, Alexander Hall

I would say AMI’s performance over the last year has been excellent. In the last 12 months it has come from nothing to becoming an absolutely essential part of the market and we can see that by the amount of attention it gets as an organisation.

If you consider the amount of regulatory change and the number of consultation documents there have been it is hard to imagine the market without AMI. How the broker community would have coped without the response to various consultation papers it has produced, for example, is unclear. It has become a real focal point for the industry.

The next challenge for AMI will be to see if it can finish the job it started on the mortgage side on the insurance side. It will play a big role in the transfer from the Mortgage MCCB to the FSA. AMI will need to widen its scope. There will be other regulatory changes coming along.

It is also interesting to note that Chris Cummings has been talking about AMI being central to developing some common standards for dealing with lenders for example.

Peter Brodnicki, Mortgage Advice Bureau

AMI has served the intermediary market well, being very proactive in the development of the new regulatory regime and ensuring that sensible and pragmatic interpretation of the regulations have been pointed out to the FSA when possible. It has also done good work on wider market issues such as the Miles report, and seems to have a good handle on what is important to mortgage intermediaries.

Finally, we have a trade body representing us, and it is not just the voice of the lenders through the CML that is heard on mortgage market matters. The new Board has a good platform to build on, and should now start to look beyond 31 October to the issues the market will be facing over the next few years.

The main point is that for years the lenders have driven the agenda – now we, as intermediaries, have a significant voice.

John Malone, Premier Mortgage Service

Since the formation of AMI in April 2003 its position in the mortgage and general insurance market has been outstanding. In its short existence it has amassed a membership of 14,000, and recruited some of the industry’s most successful and knowledgeable people onto its various committees, to ensure the mortgage intermediary is being well served and represented.

The whole team at AMI has worked tirelessly on the industry’s behalf in assisting us all with a plain English understanding of this new regulatory world.

The relationships it has created with the FSA, the Treasury and the MCCB on our behalf have ensured we will, as mortgage advisers, have a strong voice not only today but for the future. With new elections now in place I strongly believe that those that have worked with AMI should be re-elected as they have created a strong working relationship to ensure the industry is well served.

Tony Jones, Pink Home Loans

There were other attempts to set up a trade body that did not really work out but in the case of AMI, it has managed to make a real difference, particularly in terms of lobbying the FSA.

It has a lot of credibility within the industry and has been very effective and it represents members’ views well. It has also done a good job of analysing and disseminating the various pieces of information issued by the FSA.

At the moment it has been primarily focused on regulation, which is understandable because that has been the preoccupation of brokers. I think it could focus on helping brokers to conduct their business better by providing best practice guidelines.

It has also begun to hold meetings for regional brokers, which I think is good for the smaller companies because it is easy for these brokers to feel isolated. I would encourage these, if only because it enables brokers to get together and to share their views or concerns.

Frances Scanlan, Knight Funding

I am surprised and impressed by what has been achieved, which is much better than expected, and exceeds the results delivered by other trade bodies. AMI is a proactive and effective lobbying body which has steered clear of industry politics, represented members’ interests and had a very positive impact on some of the anomalies coming out of the FSA.

Over the next 12 months I would hope to see AMI continue to represent industry interests and address anomalies, in particular where the FSA has not always grasped the practical implications of implementing regulations and their own processes. For example, the priority being given to IFA networks’ variations, which is delaying mortgage networks’ MTA letters, and the lack of commitment to issuing all network MTA letters at the same time so as to give no one a commercial advantage. I look forward to AMI fighting our corner in the next 12 months – more power to its elbow.