Dunfermline heads south as it targets 40% volume growth

DUNFERMLINE Building Society is targeting mortgage borrowers south of the Border for the first time, in a bid to increase its volumes by 40 per cent this year.

In 2006 Dunfermline – Scotland’s biggest building society – completed £810 million of lending, including residential and commercial. Now it aims to grow this figure to £1.1 billion by the end of 2008, with 50 per cent of the increase coming from outside Scotland.

Rather than sell directly to customers in England and Wales, Dunfermline is putting together a panel of experienced mortgage advisers and broker networks that it will do business through.

Established in 1869, the building society claims its position as a trusted brand will win the confidence of mortgage intermediaries.

Dunfermline has already won the agreement of Londonheadquartered Savills Private Finance and Hamptons Mortgages – firms that focus on wealthier customers rather than riskier areas – to sell its products.

Dunfermline believes it can take on major lenders, such as HBOS and Abbey, because its smaller scale allows it to offer a more personal service.

Dunfermline’s drive south of the Border is being led by David Gibb, who joined the building society as national key account manager in November from HBOS.

Gibb told The Scotsman: "I took on a new role to target the big broker firms and networks south of the Border.

"Until now, any mortgage business we picked up outside Scotland has really been by chance. We now have a dedicated development team, based in Dunfermline, to look after these brokers. I’ll be using my previous experience to take the Dunfermline name to the English market and build on the affinity felt for Scottish lenders."

Dunfermline offers a broad range of mortgage products, including loans for professionals and graduates, 100 per cent deals for firsttime buyers, buytolet loans and equity release products.

Simon Jones, director at Savills Private Finance, said: "Dunfermline is prepared to take what could be seen as a more oldfashioned approach.
"Unlike many other lenders it will use human interaction to look at our clients’ cases, rather than get carried away with technology. Its products seem competitive and many have appeared on bestbuy tables. It’s approach is very refreshing."

As part of its expansion Dunfermline is rolling out its online application service to advisers. The service, piloted in Scotland,

allows advisers to submit all their clients’ details electronically to an underwriter who will come back with a decision.

Ken Carson of Blythswood Associates, a financial adviser in Glasgow who has tested the system, said: "The difference between Dunfermline’s online service and many others is that the application goes directly to the correct underwriter rather than us having to wait for a computer to decide."

Dunfermline has expanded into a number of new areas in recent years, including commercial lending. Its pretax profit for 2006 was £7.4m.