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Commercial market
Survival
strategies
Despite pronouncements from various corners of the
media that the recession is (nearly) over, the benefits of
a freer market have yet to filter through to the
commercial finance broker. Adam Tyler,chief executive
of the NACFB, looks at where the market is – and what to do in
the interim
I
have spent the last half an hour looking So while we’re waiting for things to return to later this year. When the ‘crunch’ first hit,
back over articles I had written ‘normal’ (and working out what it is that residential mortgage brokers were the first to be
previously for Mortgage Introducer ‘normal’ actually means) what should we be affected, with commercial mortgage brokers six
(wondering which topic it would be doing in the meantime? As an Association we’ve months behind them (leasing and asset finance
appropriate to revisit!) to see how looked at some of the key challenges still facing brokers were six months behind again and
much the market has changed in the brokers and offered a few solutions. vehicle finance brokers felt the pinch almost two
last twelve months or so. Looking back years after the initial impact). Given that
to the early parts of 2009 and comparing them Maximise opportunities headlines of higher loan to values and new
with now, I have to admit that any I spoke to hundreds of brokers of last year, and products entering the residential market are
improvement in the commercial finance arena one of the most common issues for all of the starting to filter through, hopefully some of this
have (so far) been disappointingly modest. was: plenty of deals on the table, very few places ‘relaxation’ will gradually filter across to the
As yet, lenders are not returning to the market to put them. This was a common factor across all commercial mortgage market.
in their droves, or substantially relaxing their areas of commercial finance: leasing, commercial But even if it doesn’t, the Association has been
criteria; although some of their counterparts in mortgages, even vehicle finance. The one looking at other markets on members’ behalf, to
the residential market are starting to push the exception has probably been invoice finance try and maximise the income from every deal.
boundaries a little so it will be interesting to see if (more on this below), but other than this rare NACFB Member Services was set up for this very
some of these changes start to spill over into the chink of light, deals have been very difficult to reason, to try and help NACFB broker survive
commercial market, and some business place. Many brokers have looked to different during these really tough times. For more
mortgages start to loosen up a bit. The number markets in the spirit of ‘diversification’, but many information on the training events to accompany
of lenders active in the commercial mortgage found the going tough in their new market as this scheme, you can visit our website.
market has reduced dramatically over the last similarly tight trading conditions combined with
two years; either through smaller specialists a lack of experience in their new field meant that Look for the markets which are
closing their doors, or through mergers with a good many have struggled. still open
other funders within the market. I believe that the situation should ease a little Although it pains me to say it, development
February 2010 Mortgage Introducer www.mortgageintroducer.com
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