Mark Posniak: Bridging market must remove unscrupulous practices

Posniak also said that lenders need to price for risk.

Mark Posniak: Bridging market must remove unscrupulous practices

This year the bridging market needs to price for risk and remove unscrupulous practices, Mark Posniak, managing director of Octane Capital has claimed.

Posniak (pictured) said: “Ultimately, it’s time for these unscrupulous practices to disappear.

“People who think they can charge default interest double or sometimes treble for your normal rate is just not acceptable or fair for your consumer, the same way that charging 5% if the loan goes beyond term by just one day, it’s not fair and not reasonable and not in line with TCF regardless of whether the loan is regulated or not.

“It’s not something we’ll be backing down with, we’ll be talking closely with the ASTL and FIBA.

“I’ve already had a chat with Vic and we’ll be getting together early in the year and I’ve spoken to Adam at length.

“This has to stop.”

Posniak said the market needs to price for risk and a number of people aren’t because they’re just desperate for market share and that’s the danger.

He added: “The bridging sector is a specialist sector and comes with more risk than mainstream mortgages.

“It’s the nature of the beast.

“However, those with experience who understand risk and how to price for it know it’s never been about rate, it’s always been about certainty and delivery for clients.

“The more we go down the ‘it’s just about rate’ the more dangerous it gets and the more casualties that happen because people who don’t understand it put the wrong loans out to the wrong people at the wrong price to the wrong loan-to-value.

“If funders who fund them get caught it affects everyone.

“That’s the bigger issue rather than how low rates can go.

“It’s actually to make sure we protect the industry as a whole.”