hometrustloan.org.uk posted on November 01, 2011 13:45
THIS MORNING I am on my way up to Birmingham to present at the Home Improvement Agency conference, called Foundations. It’s a good opportunity to talk about the work that we do to colleagues working in the sector, who have a shared objective of helping people – particularly vulnerable people – to obtain the appropriate, high quality service that they need from contractors and suppliers.I thought I would write today about the added value that Parity Trust is able to bring, to ensure that our clients are offered the best possible financial service. That value can be measured by the commonsense advice that we offer, the thoroughness of our research in assessing the financial situation of our customers, our empathetic and supportive approach and the way in which we seek to help the differing agencies communicate together, for the ultimate benefit of the client.
But it is not all about lending money. The clients’ best interests come first, and will always do so.
Over the eight years that I have been Chief Executive, I have seen many occasions in which colleagues have carried out the necessary and comprehensive financial assessment, and concluded that it would not be in the clients’ best interest to be offered a loan. Of course, the essential works will need to be funded, but many of our clients are able to reach an alternative conclusion by themselves for funding the works by using savings, releasing funds from personal investments, borrowing from family or friends or possibly securing a commercial form of debt finance where they are able to do so. And yes, sometimes the decision not to lend is not an easy one for our loans officers to communicate to the client, or for the individual to receive; but an important one, nevertheless. 
As a sustainable, ethical and socially responsible financial institution, we exist to support individuals and invest in our local communities. But we will never compromise this position by lending when it is not appropriate to do so. Perhaps the question that needs to be asked is why this philosophy cannot be adopted by other financial institutions throughout the world, which over time may help restore people’s confidence in the sector and some stability in the markets? Three years on from the credit crunch in 2008, it is still not uncommon to read or hear about instances whereby institutions have not been acting in the best interests of the client, or indeed the shareholders, come to think of that....Certainly, the solution to the predicament that the western economies face is not a simple one, but a complex, inter-linked set of challenges which relate to how to finance our long-term debt requirement.
But arguably sensible lending practices practised by all financial institutions would be a start?