Lenders and packagers seek IMLA alternative

BM Solutions, Mortgage Express and UCB Home Loans are among the IMLA members who rejected the proposal while lenders including Mortgages plc, Platform, Kensington Mortgages and Preferred Mortgages were keen to see it adopted.

It is expected the second group of lenders will now push for a common code of practice across the packaging industry.

Julian Wells, marketing manager at Mortgages plc, said: “The reason why IMLA began to develop a code was because some lenders saw value in it. IMLA may now have vetoed it but that doesn’t mean it will not happen.”

John Maltby, managing director of Kensington Mortgages and chairman of IMLA, commented: “A code of practice would create consistency and over the next couple of months we will see which other organisations are seeking this common theme.”

Recent IMLA research has indicated that 78 per cent of brokers who currently use packagers will continue to do so after regulation.

Vic Jannels, managing director of All Types of Mortgages (AtoM) and Professional Mortgage Packagers Association (PMPA) spokesman, said: “My research of packagers has indicated that most expect to be regulated within the next five years anyway.”

John Rice, managing director of the Regulatory Alliance of Mortgage Packagers (RAMP), said: “It is not surprising all those lenders could not agree, they all have differing priorities.”