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In Reference Appointments & Updates


Fiona Macaskill, head of learning and


development, said: “We are very proud of what we have achieved from a complete standing start 18 months ago. We have a fantastic team of people and apprentices who are making rapid progress in their careers and development.”


Shieldpay has announced that 44 law firms are utilising Shieldpay to improve efficiencies and deliver secure payments to help rid the industry of fraud. Director Geoff Dunnett said: “As the


industry starts to embrace digital change, processes like handling client money will be streamlined and there will be numerous benefits. Speed, security, and transparency are set to increase as the adoption of Shieldpay and our third-party managed- account solution grows. “Working with 44 law firms, including


White & Case and Cooley, is an incredible milestone and we are excited to break new ground. We are committed to continuing to innovate, by improving efficiency and security in the legal profession.”


Following news, last month, that RBS, NatWest, Nationwide, and Tesco Bank customers were hit with yet another IT outage, leaving them unable to access accounts and pay bills, Venkatesh Varadarajan, partner in financial services, at Infosys Consulting, said: “News of yet another IT outage yesterday is just the latest in a long line of crippling IT issues for UK banks in the last year. As we move to a cashless society and a tech-first financial world, banks need to buck their ideas up and improve their technology to support changing consumer behaviour. “Those that fail to do so risk losing millions


of customers to their competition. “One of the key causes for the wave of IT


system outages is the ageing legacy technology estates that banks run on. “Most banks have complex, monolithic


systems, so scalability, reliability, and quick responsiveness to technology glitches is a major issue for banks and payments companies. “This led to customers being unable to


use their card, access their account, or pay bills at a critical time of the month.”


September 2019


Paragon Bank has completed the migration of its development-finance- lending portfolio onto the Phoebus development-finance module. It follows Paragon’s acquisition of Titlestone Property Finance in July 2018; Titlestone were already users and so the migration means Paragon’s whole portfolio – with a total value of over £570m – will now be serviced on the Phoebus platform. Phoebus Software’s sales and marketing director, Richard Pike, said: “The


Richard Pike


migration project with Paragon Bank has gone extremely well and is testimony to both parties working effectively in partnership to achieve key objectives. The development-finance market remains buoyant and our investment into providing a standalone solution to deal with all of the complexities of this type of lending confirms the importance we put on this expanding sector.”


The debt-advice sector has developed a


first-of-its-kind apprenticeship qualification. The qualification Standard and End Point Assessment have now been submitted to the approval board of the Institute of Apprenticeships. It is expected that the apprenticeship will launch within the next six months. Sebrina McCullough, external relations


manager at Gregory Pennington, who is chairing the working group, said: “This qualification, which will be accessible to advisers from across the sector, will help to increase the quality and consistency of debt advice and recognise advisers as professionals providing an essential service to individuals in financial difficulty. The qualification will seek to establish debt advice as an attractive professional career and help get more people into the sector.”


Vision Blue is opening a new office in


Nottingham as it expands into the personal insolvency and personal money-management markets, in conjunction with further investment plans. Martin Prigent has been appointed as director to lead a 12-strong team based in Nottingham’s Castle Marina. Mr Prigent said: “Vision Blue recognises


that the market needs to modernise and apply technology to help the consumer and creditor manage their insolvencies more effectively.” James Scott, partner at Pollen Street


Capital, added: “Pollen Street are delighted to be able to support Vision Blue in their continued growth. The opening of a new office in Nottingham, with the build out of the team there, will provide a great base for further development of new products, as well as coverage of core UK customers.”


A property-finance expert has joined specialist lender Together as its corporate relationship director covering the North of England. Alex Garland, who has worked in commercial real-estate


finance for nearly 20 years, will be responsible for nurturing existing relationships and widening the specialist lender’s network of corporate clients and advisers as it grows its presence across the UK. He said: “I have been working in mainstream banking for


Alex Garland


a long time now and that market has changed significantly over the last decade. I am ready for a new challenge and, having started off in specialist lending, I have come full circle. Over the years, I have always kept an eye on Together’s amazing growth and its ambitions for the future. It is fantastic to be part of the team again.”


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