Zifa boosts mortgage panel with big players

Zurich IFA Mortgage Network is adding three major lenders to its panel

which will give its members access to more than 50 per cent of the mortgage

market.

Halifax, Cheltenham & Gloucester and Nationwide Building Society are

joining the panel of 10, which already includes four of the top 10 lenders.

The three new lenders control nearly half the total lending market,

according to Council of Mortgage Lenders&#39 figures.

Other lenders signed to the network include Abbey National, Bank of

Scotland, Yorkshire Building Society, West Bromwich Building Society and

UCB Home Loans.

Zifa&#39s mortgage network was set up at the start of 1999. The last addition

to its panel was Future Mortgages, which was added last April to cover the

needs of non-status borrowers.

Zifa says it has no plans to add any further lenders as it believes this

would affect the competitiveness of the service by reducing its bargaining

power with lenders.

Mortgage network director Andy Young says: “The addition of Halifax, C&G

and Nationwide to our panel ensures we are able to provide IFAs registered

with the network with even more of a choice for their clients from some of

the most competitive schemes available.”