CFI: NACFB


NACFB objectives


Since 1992 the NACFB has been the regulatory body for the Commercial Finance Industry to ensure good practice and good stan- dards.


That ethos is still true today - it remains the main reason why the association exists, but after 20 years of expansion there is now a lot more the NACFB can offer beyond its Code of Practice.


Beyond this core objec-


tive, we are now here not only to help our members, but also to assist the wider SME market to find funding for their business, particu- larly through these difficult times. From 2008 the lack of funding in the market saw our members and their customers struggle to fi- nance their businesses. We had 84 different lenders at the start of this period; this number had fallen to 45 at the start of 2010. We now have a record number of commercial finance lenders and we’re always in talks with more. The NACFB has recently gained national recogni- tion and has approximately 1000 experienced com- mercial finance individuals as members spread right across the whole of the UK, offering a wealth of knowl- edge that is available to all businesses.


We get the regulation we deserve By Adam Tyler, NACFB


“We get the regulation we de- serve. If we want proportion- ate, consistent and balanced regulation, we need to show that we are resolving issues in a timely and professional manner.” Tose were the comments


from George Ashworth, chair of the FLA asset finance divi- sion, speaking at the Asset Fi- nance Operations conference on 11 December last year.


BBC Panorama A panel of experts, including me, sat to discuss regulation of


the asset finance market.


One significant prompt for the discussion was the media’s reporting of recent leasing scams, especially culminating in a Panorama BBC broadcast in September 2012. It’s in all our interests to


take sensible steps towards mending any damage to the reputation of the industry, whether or not we all agree on the root causes of how the un- regulated commercial finance market is perceived. Te NACFB currently has


130 member firms and more than 250 individuals report- ing that 20% and more of their business is in the asset finance sector.


Negative effects Tat means we have to take a close look at anything that negatively affects the percep-


tion of UK asset finance bro- kers as well as our members generally. Although the Pan- orama programme empha- sised the impact of the scam on one particular bank, other finance companies were also involved, and so the television viewer might form the im- pression that the right checks weren’t being done.


“If brokers cannot effectively self- regulate, key decisions will be taken by people without a broker background”


What can the NACFB do to


bolster industry reputations? To start with, we have built a full training and education programme through our web- site. To incentivise our mem-


bership, we’ve dropped the majority of membership fees right across the board – while acknowledging that


training


and examinations cost money to set up and run. Our new website is pro-


grammed to count up the time members spend on training, and to credit them with CPD (continuing pro- fessional development)


time automatically. With low-cost


modules on the subjects of Treating Customers Fairly, Data Protection and Anti Money Laundering, we’re sending out a message that our broker members must be competent at the basics. And of course, we make


sure we have a presence at events like December’s Asset Finance Operations Confer- ence, next summer’s Support- ing Business for Growth con- ference, and industry events run by, for example, the Fed- eration of Small Businesses.


Run by brokers, for brokers Te point is, we’re a regula- tory body run by brokers for brokers. When George Ashworth


says “we get the regulation we deserve”, he is saying it in the context of well-reported scams amid an absence of government-centred regula- tion. If brokers cannot effec- tively self-regulate, key deci- sions will be taken by people without a broker background. Te NACFB works on the


agreement of a board of direc- tors sourced from the broker- ing industry. Sometimes we need to co-


opt directors from financial sectors that would otherwise be underrepresented (for in- stance, vehicle asset finance).


Playing fair Every year one or two direc- tors move on and we find


42 MORTGAGE INTRODUCER JANUARY 2013


www.mortgageintroducer.com


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