Benson Hersch, CEO of the ASTL, stated that as the bridging industry is growing and changing, with several new entrants, and a growing number of lenders expanding what they offer, the turn is likely to increase the amount of demand for such loans as they reach the needs of a wider number of people.
Benson said: “It is important that, as the only trade body for short term lenders, we help to influence this growth in two ways:
- Through representing the interests of responsible bridging lenders with bodies such as the FCA and FOS, to help ensure that they understand the unique conditions that bridging lenders operate under, the elements that are key to successful short term loans and to help promote the proposed regulatory changes that are beneficial and prevent those that would be damaging.
- To help influence the reputation of the industry; some of that is through increasing awareness of bridging and short term lenders amongst the intermediary community, but we can also do this by helping to raise the standards that bridging lenders themselves operate under. This in itself has a massive contribution towards the positive perception of bridging. It is imperative that all responsible bridging lenders operate, and are seen to operate, by the highest standards, behaving both fairly and openly to both intermediaries and borrowers.
“It is to achieve these aims that we are trying to increase the membership of the ASTL to include all like-minded responsible lenders.”
Benson also commented on the ASTL’s plans for new members: “Work on attracting new members is ongoing. We are also monitoring several new entrants, with a view to making them members once they’re more established.
“The more firms that we represent, the more influence we also have to affect the future of the industry in a positive way.
“Even though regulation ostensibly only affects regulated firms, which many bridging firms are not, it will ultimately have an effect on the way that all lenders carry out their business, which is likely to become more apparent over the next year or two.”
Benson then addressed the topic of MMR, and how the ASTL will respond to the increasing demand this will place on the market:
“Working through the impact of all of the different regulatory requirements can be a minefield, especially for smaller lenders, when you take into account the MMR, the change of regulator for consumer credit agreements from the OFT to the FCA and the impending implementation of the European Mortgage Directive in two years’ time.
“Much of this will drive even more lending through intermediated channels and brokers are likely to play a larger role than ever before. At the same time, it may become harder for lenders to educate brokers about their products with the impact of the new FCA ‘inducements and financial incentives’ consultation paper.
“While the consultation is aimed at insurance firms under the RDR, it is likely to have wide ranging implications to the way that we all interact.
“As much as the industry changes and grows, one thing is for sure: the more we all work together in co-operation the stronger we are both as an industry and as individual organisations.”
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