LOAN INTRODUCER
SPOTLIGHT
Tackling the issues Loan Introducer catches up with Robert Sinclair, chief executive of the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries and Association of Finance Brokers, to get his take on the COVID–19 crisis and what it will mean for the second charge mortgage market How has the second charge mortgage market
Robert Sinclair
coped with the COVID-19 crisis so far?
Clearly the issue with valuations has had an impact on the market, particularly for higher loan-to-value ratio (LTV) borrowing. As the market finds new ways to deliver valuations, we hope this will improve. Product availability is always difficult when financial markets are stressed, but there has never been a time when advice is more important. Helping consumers be well advised on the options open to them, by way of support as well as product availability, is at the heart of maintaining market credibility. What will the long-term impact of the crisis be? With any major economic and market dislocation, there is always the risk that firms may not survive the transition to the new normal. All previous downturns have seen a loss of firms and advice capacity. It is too early to tell how significant that loss might be on this occasion; however, government is intervening in a way never seen before to help both individuals and firms survive the near-term impacts of COVID-19. The need for a vibrant and effective mortgage and housing market is at the heart of any effective forward-looking UK economy. Will the crisis be more harmful than the 2008 credit crunch? This is a very different circumstance. There, we had significant capital and, more importantly, liquidity issues that were long lasting. We had a very long restructuring phase that took years. I do not think
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MORTGAGE INTRODUCER MAY 2020
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