Loan master broker Promise Solutions has set up a new department specifically to help brokers understand how to integrate secured loans in to their business.

The aim is to help broker see how secured loans can generate more remortgage business, additional income streams and help protect their existing clients from being poached.

Steve Walker, managing director of Promise Solutions, said: “The new department is manned by a team who are passionate about adding extra value to our broker relationships and has been piloted by Sharon for a number of months who has worked with me for over 20 years.

“Those brokers who know Sharon will already understand how committed she is to helping brokers succeed. The aim is to help our introducers make more money from secured loans and the services and advice we give are free. It is clear that many brokers want help to get more involved in secured loans but without such help, secured loans can remain on a brokers ‘things to do’ list and eventually disappear under the weight of other priorities.

“Whilst it is temping to keep badgering mortgage brokers about when a secured loan might be applicable or available, the feedback Promise has received is that brokers are more interested in how they can most easily do more secured loans. This can be an education process for some and just a change of process for others but it is especially relevant for those who are already too busy focussing on their core activities.”

Walker claimed that Promise now offers a variety of further techniques and methods brokers can integrate in to their business enabling them to be either totally hands off relying on Promise to deal with any enquiries, or where brokers can deal with the sales process and use Promise purely to undertake the packaging element.

Walker said: “Even now not every broker is ready to treat secured loans seriously which is surprising given potential consequences of ignoring loans. It is generally accepted that cross selling alternative products can be an important, if not vital, source of income for brokers, provided it doesn’t detract from the core business.

“It is also commonly found that those brokers who properly inform their clients and introducers that they can arrange secured loans receive more remortgage enquiries as a result. This is not surprising as many borrowers looking for a smaller loan amount, say £10-£15,000, will go online and use comparison sites to get a quote. Often this is because they are not aware that their broker or financial adviser has a facility to offer secured and unsecured loans. The problem here for the broker, is that when their client applies to an online comparison site or to their bank, their details are likely to be passed onto another company, resulting in the broker missing out on the loan or mortgage sale and potentially even losing the client altogether.

“We can help brokers with strategies and tools to combat this and turn the tide in their favour. A small loan enquiry can easily turn in to a consolidation remortgage or a loan so it makes real sense to encourage this type of business. Promise is keen to support proactive mortgage brokers and IFA’s who perhaps, until now, have not seen a clear way forward in the secured loan sector.”