Sub-prime lenders "fully committed" to working with borrowers

Posted: 06 Jun 2008 13:29:01 GMT

An industry association has reacted to accusations by the Liberal Democrats that sub-prime lenders are not meeting the same standards as their mainstream counterparts.

An industry association has reacted to accusations by the Liberal Democrats that sub-prime lenders are not meeting the same standards as their mainstream counterparts.

The Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association (IMLA) has dismissed the comments made by Vince Cable, deputy leader of the UK Liberal Democrats, as "inaccurate" and "misleading".

Sub-prime lenders have, in the words of the IMLA, been accused of, being "unwilling to commit to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) guidelines for lenders", as outlined yesterday (June 5th).

Peter Williams, executive director of the IMLA, argued: "Sub-prime lenders are fully committed to working with borrowers in difficulty to help them avoid possession - and are already engaged in all the agendas the CML are talking about."

Mr Williams suggested that far from being unscrupulous, sub-prime lenders were exercising "forbearance and flexibility towards individual borrowers' circumstances".

As an example, the IMLA explained that GE Home Lending are working with the Foundation for Credit Counselling to provide free mortgage advice services for borrowers in difficulty.

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