Over the last year, theres been a flurry of product launches, as lenders pile into this nascent market. Some of the new entrants in 2005 included the Bristol & West, Victoria Mortgages and Beacon Homeloans, while investment banks Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley are in the process of setting out their stalls. And the trend looks set to continue during 2006; with personal debt now topping the 1 trillion mark, it would seem that theres room for the adverse market to grow and for more lenders to take advantage of the increased profit margins of this sector.
Many mortgage brokers have tales to tell about the bad old days of the adverse sector, when clients with impaired credit history had to pay through the nose to secure a mortgage. Today, this flourishing sector is now a competitive one, and with so many new entrants, there is potential for a price war. However, the old adage that increased competition is always a good thing for customers, because it brings prices down and improves services, may not apply in the adverse market.
Of major concern is the limited experience of some of these new lenders, in what is an incredibly complicated market. A recent...