IMLA: The government has not tackled main mortgage market problem

Date:Wednesday 25th February 2009
Author: Rachel Fletcher

Moves by the government to help prevent repossession have not addressed the real cause of the issue, the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association (IMLA) has said.

In a statement, the organisation applauded the intention of keeping people in their homes but said that the key concern is a lack of funding within the mortgage market and that this has not been dealt with.

This, it explained, makes it difficult for many people to remortgage or get their first property, as mortgage products are in decline for sub-prime, self-cert and buy-to-let deals, as well as those that do not require large deposits.

In addition, the IMLA said that action is needed to help the growing number of people who have faulty credit records.

Recently, the IMLA called for more government assistance for a greater number of mortgage lenders such as those who source their funding from capital and wholesale markets.

It said that the government's homeowner mortgage support scheme missed out "a myriad of finer but crucial details".