Market Comment 4th Jan 2009 PDF Print E-mail
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Written by TrigoldCrystal Marketing Manager   
Monday, 04 January 2010 00:00
Let’s start the new year with a bit of good news for the intermediary market. In particular we would like to tell you about a meeting TrigoldCrystal had recently with Platform.

Obviously, as they were mainly in the sub-prime and other niche areas of the market times have been tough at Platform but they continued to trade while all around them were shutting up shop and are now coming back very strongly indeed. Though with some changes.

Platform is and always has been an intermediary lender. In times where often the most competitive products are direct only, it’s refreshing to see a lender committed solely to intermediaries, Platform also understand that when it comes to processing applications and servicing a mortgage the lender has an obligation to ensure that standards are as high as possible – service that reflects well on the intermediary rather than poorly, as is often the case with some high-street lenders.

One of the changes Platform is now making is to move into the prime arena. It’s a tough job to reposition a brand especially when that brand has become strong in one particular area but you will see the change throughout 2010. Incidentally, we face a similar problem with TrigoldCrystal and our move into Point of Sale and CRM systems to support what we have become synonymous with - Sourcing.

But the main point to focus on is that here we have an intermediary-only lender coming back strongly into the market and though focusing on a few channels at the moment to ensure quality of lending, is expecting to lend significantly more in 2010 than in 2009 as well as having their sights firmly set on lending through all networks, clubs, and DAs as soon as possible.

And it is this kind of story that really helps bring back confidence in the market in a way that no amount of high-level economic speculation really can. Perhaps there really is hope!
Last Updated on Tuesday, 12 January 2010 07:38