Posts with tag: PRA

OneSavings Bank Implements Submission Platform Ahead of PRA Changes

Published On: July 31, 2017 at 9:44 am

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Specialist lending group OneSavings Bank is implementing an online portfolio submission platform, along with property risk software developer eTech, ahead of the PRA changes (Prudential Regulation Authority) regarding portfolio landlord underwriting standards on 1st October 2017.

The platform, built on the backbone of eTech’s Buy to Let Hub, will give mortgage brokers one straightforward online solution, which will streamline portfolio stress testing and income coverage ratio assessment to provide a rapid response to loan applications, all delivered through one simple broker dashboard for ongoing monitoring and management.

OneSavings Bank Implements Submission Platform Ahead of PRA Changes

OneSavings Bank Implements Submission Platform Ahead of PRA Changes

Together with input from Mortgages for Business, the platform has been created with the broker experience at the heart of the system. It will allow intermediaries to upload portfolio property details directly onto the platform, either manually or from Microsoft Excel. New portfolios can also be quickly created based on previous portfolio data.

The Buy to Let Hub then automates key criteria variables, sending a summary report automatically to the underwriters, allowing the lender to assess individual applications quickly and efficiently.

The PRA changes will introduce stricter portfolio landlord underwriting standards. Paragon and Aldermore have already revealed how they will be complying with the new rules.

The Sales Director of OneSavings Bank, Adrian Moloney, comments on the news: “As a specialist lender, this sort of bespoke underwriting is in our DNA, so it will be business as usual for us come October. Nevertheless, brokers are our business, and we know they are soon going to be hit with a greater administrative burden, so we want to do all we can to make the transition as smooth as possible.

“I’d like to thank Steve Olejnik and the broker team at Mortgages for Business, as well as the team at eTech, for their expertise and insight in enabling us to provide a solution that delivers the functionality that brokers will find most useful. They’ll be able to upload, monitor and manage the portfolio element of their applications in one intuitive dashboard, with a robust back-end that empowers us as a lender to make quick and accurate decisions.”

He adds: “In just a couple of months, the buy-to-let market will take yet another step toward greater specialisation, and I hope this tech-driven solution will quickly become the gold standard for brokers coming to terms with the new rules.”

Mark Blackwell, the Lending and Surveying Services Director at eTech, also says: “We are delighted to be working with OneSavings Bank to deliver the industry standard Buy to Let Hub. We have worked collaboratively to provide a solution that supports brokers and landlords, and helps make OneSavings Bank easy to deal with in a market becoming ever more specialist.

“We build software to manage property risk and improve efficiency. This is the start of the digital journey with the Hub, with several more phases to follow after September that will deliver more enhancements to the specialist lending market.”

And finally, Steve Olejnik, the COO of Mortgages for Business, concludes: “Once again, OneSavings Bank is blazing a trail amongst the specialist lenders, creating not just a solution to accommodate the new PRA requirements, but also having the foresight to include input from brokers to ensure that the technology is fit for purpose. From our perspective, forewarned is forearmed. OneSavings Bank’s proactivity has helped us to prepare our customers and our processes for the increased administrative burden that all brokers will be required to undertake on the journey to get deals over the line from October onwards.”

We will continue to keep you updated with all news of the PRA changes at Landlord News.

Could PRA proposals lead to increased activity?

Published On: April 28, 2016 at 11:14 am

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Newly proposed underwriting rules for buy-to-let lenders as suggested by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) could lead to an increase in market activity.

This is the view of buy-to-let specialist lender, Fleet Mortgages, who feel that landlords will look to secure finance before the PRA intervene.

Stricter conditions

Just last month, the PRA issued recommendations aimed at imposing stricter lending affordability measures on applicants looking for a buy-to-let mortgage. The PRA wants to see the amount of money being borrowed to be reduced,

Fleet Mortgages believes the new rules could come into place as soon as January 2017, but that some lenders will want more time to adapt to any alterations. Landlords and mortgage advisors could treat the coming months as they did in the period leading up to the stamp duty alterations on 1st April.

This period saw a surge in buy-to-let mortgage demand and activity and Fleet Mortgages suggests landlords looking to remortgage are more likely to do so before the new PRA lending criteria comes into play.

What’s more, it is feared that landlords with a large portfolio could be most affected by the changes, with many looking to secure finance in 2016 instead of waiting.

Increases

Bob Young, Chief Executive Officer of Fleet Mortgages, noted, ‘many have suggested that the recent stamp duty deadline is the only one facing the buy-to-let sector and market activity will now wither on the vine as landlords take stock of their positions for the foreseeable future.’[1]

‘The recent PRA consultation on buy-to-let underwriting actually makes it more likely that we will see activity levels begin to increase again over the course of the year as we get closer to the implantation of the rules. Certainly, given their intention to drive down the amounts buy-to-let landlords can borrow, it would be logical to think existing landlords seeking to remortgage or capital raise or both will make the most of the current market conditions which will allow them to borrow at higher levels,’ Young continued.[1]

Could PRA proposals lead to increased activity?

Could PRA proposals lead to increased activity?

Compromised

Mr Young went on to say, ‘Once the new rules kick-in, landlords and their advisers may well find their ability to secure the money they want has been compromised by the stricter underwriting criteria imposed on lenders, plus of course the likelihood that increased capital requirements will also impact on lender’s ability to offer the same levels of funding. It all adds up to the potential for renewed vigour in the buy-to-let sector, especially for those who may be deemed portfolio landlords, given the special affordability requirements they will face next year.’[1]

Offering advice to landlords, Young stated, ‘Our advice to advisers is to make sure any clients with these circumstances are contacted and they are made aware of how the lending landscape might change in 2017. Those in a position to make their new mortgage arrangements now are likely to find a much more hospitable lending environment, rather than waiting for lenders to implement these new rules and ultimately for them to end up disappointed.’[1]

[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/landlords/could-new-pra-proposals-reignite-market-activity.html