Mortgage broker market 'to decline'

Date:Thursday 21st May 2009
Author: Susanna Kavka

The mortgage broker market in the UK is to decline further this year, new figures suggest.

Produced by the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association (IMLA), the statistics reveal that while all of its members believe the Bank of England's quantitative easing programme will help to stimulate new mortgage lending, two-thirds expect the broker market to shrink.

According to the organisation, mortgage lending via intermediaries has fallen from a peak of 77 per cent in the first three months of 2008 to 62 per cent in the first quarter of this year.

Commenting on the issue, IMLA executive director Peter Williams said: "The mortgage market is less than half the size it was at its peak. Unfortunately that means brokers have to compete hard for the reduced business there is in the market."

Headquartered in London, the IMLA exists to represent the interests and views of organisations involved in the generation of mortgage businesses via professional financial intermediaries.