First European Securities makes secured loan comeback

First European Securities has re-entered the secured loan market four years after it withdrew.
The lender is distributing its products through a panel of ten introducers, including Broker-Support.
Its range includes unlimited adverse loans from £3,000 to £25,000, available up to 65% LTV, including fees and PPP, plus self-cert loans up to £40,000.
Nick Barron, director at First [...]

AFB deputy chair calls for FSA to regulate secured loans

Tony Machin, chief executive officer at Freedom Finance, and the new deputy chairman at the Association of Finance Brokers, says the Financial Services Authority desperately needs to regulate the secured loan market.
In an interview with Loandistributor.co.uk, Machin says that FSA regulation would help the secured loan market’s reputation with first-charge mortgage brokers.
He says: “The industry [...]

White Label Loans withdraws from self-cert

Secured loan lender White Label Loans has temporarily pulled out of the self-cert market.
The lender will no longer accept cases for self-employed clients and has given brokers until September 1, 2008 to submit cases.
White Label, which has never offered self-cert for employed borrowers, says it may return to the market.
Kam Sanghani, managing director at White [...]

FirstPlus confirms it will claw back commission

Barclays has confirmed it is clawing back commission from brokers on its FirstPlus range.
A spokeswoman for the lender says: “We’re not doing anything that we haven’t said that we would do in our terms and conditions and our contracts.
“We are clawing back commission on PPI sales that didn’t go through from August 2007 to January [...]

Secured loan market ’shutting down’

The secured loan market is declining rapidly, with eight lenders having withdrawn from the market in the past twelve months, according to Moneyfacts.co.uk. Earlier this week, Barclays pulled the plug on its First Plus second charge mortgage business, one of the largest in the UK.
Since July 2007, a number of lenders have withdrawn from the [...]

Positive offers 90% self-cert secured deal

Positive Lending has tied up with an undisclosed lender to offer an exclusive 90% self-cert secured loan product.
The 90% self-cert product requires no proof of trading, with a maximum loan amount of £30,000.
An 85% LTV self-cert deal has a maximum loan amount of £40,000 and current mortgage arrears are acceptable.
There is also a 75% self-cert [...]

Unite slams job losses as Firstplus pulls out

Second charge lender Firstplus is to shut its doors to new business on 9 August.
The move will result in around 300 job losses with only around 130 people being retained in Cardiff to look after existing customers.
Neil Radley, managing director of Firstplus said: “In the past year we have tried a whole range of activities [...]

Target takes on Picture loan book

Picture Financial is believed to have stopped trading, with Target Loan Servicing taking on its £1bn loan portfolio.
James Snow, Chief Operating Officer for Target Loan Servicing, says: “Lenders are looking at ways to efficiently service their existing loan portfolios, but to do this they need a highly specialist outsourcer.
“Target Loan Servicing offers them the benefit [...]

Broker registration boom for Loans etc

Loans etc has announced that the last three months has resulted in the largest month on month increases in broker registrations for secured loans since late 2005.
Graham Brent, managing director, said: “We all know the customer and product opportunity is a lot smaller than 12 months ago but loans etc are now seeing the benefit [...]

FirstPlus withdraws self-cert range

Secured loan lender FirstPlus, will withdraw its self-cert range on July 1 2008.
The Barclay’s owned lender has also withdrawn its Plans 4 and 5 and will require a drive by valuation for any product with an LTV higher than 90%.
For anyone with an LTV equal to or greater than 70% and less than 90%, it [...]