Mortgage Finance Gazette
The Association of Bridging Professionals (AOBP) has changed its name to the Financial Intermediary & Broker Association (FIBA).
According to the trade body, its stated aim is to become the natural home for all advisers and lenders, regardless of which lending sector they are in. But the Association also wants to maintain its current emphasis on specialist property finance.
The existing AOBP membership consists of IFAs, residential mortgage and commercial finance brokers and a wide range of lenders. The intention is to attract more brokers, lenders and tertiary service providers involved in the specialist lending sector, who have seen the benefits of this Association in the past and now want more support.
TFC Homeloans director and FIBA executive committee member, Wayne Smethurst, commented: “This is an exciting day for us, after all the hard work that has gone into bringing the new association into being.
“We are looking forward to taking our message to intermediaries and lenders across the finance sector and particularly to those who have not felt that there is an organisation that speaks to them or for them.
“At the same time, we intend to complement existing arrangements that some of our members may already have in place.
“We are planning to be not only a dynamic organisation for members by providing access to exclusive lender and provider product and service initiatives, but also a campaigning voice which will look to represent the interests of all our members by engaging proactively with government, regulators and industry.”
As the primary supporter of the new association, David Golder of SimplyBiz, said: “The AOBP has a long history of supporting brokers, lenders and advisers and we are delighted to be involved as an investor in ensuring this goes from strength to strength.
“This is not our first investment in a not-for-profit business and we take seriously our collective responsibility to support best practice in the sector.”
In summary, FIBA’s principal aim is to be a ‘broad church’ encompassing the whole of the market and therefore looks forward to constructive dialogue with all stakeholders associated with the lending sector.
