Press
Mortgage Solutions 26th Sept 2005
PMN looking to boost network numbers as it starts to rebuild
Berkeley Berry Birch (BBB) plans to announce a programme to boost its Professional Mortgage Network's (PMN) numbers following recent difficulties which resulted in a drop in membership.
PMN member numbers fell from 600 to 440 post-regulation, however Dale Knight, director of mortgages at BBB, said approximately 130 advisers had switched to its directly authorised proposition, Berkeley Direct. "This means that only about 50 advisers actually left the group," he said. "This has been one of the most challenging years for the company since it launched but we have got through it."
The network has undergone two Financial Services Authority (FSA) investigations which have now been concluded and suffered from capital adequacy problems, since regulation, according to Knight. However, he said its members had remained loyal and wanted to see the firm turn around.
Several networks have been forced to close their operations, both pre and post-regulation, due to an inability to meet regulatory costs or the required number of appointed representatives. Lifeboat and Interlink shut down pre-regulation and The Mortgage Operation was forced to withdraw its network proposition in February 2005 (www.mortgagesolutions-online.com, 02/02/05).
Commenting James Carter, IFA at Virtue Financial, said: "Some of the smaller networks are definitely going to have to merge or close down – it is a case of survival of the fittest."