Brokers to be issued with tailored certification to empower their business
The NACFB is to roll out a reframed review process for Members. The new NACFB Assurance Consultation repositions the Association’s established Minimum Standards Review (MSR) and is designed to empower each Member with bespoke certification and documentation that attests to their professional integrity.
Upon completion of an NACFB assurance process, Member firms will be presented with an ‘assurance kit’ containing:
- An exclusive new logo to display throughout their business;
- A custom assurance certificate;
- A bespoke document that can be shared with borrower clients, outlining why they should partner with the NACFB Member;
- An NACFB Member Assurance Overview which they can give to lenders, collating high-level and commonly requested information designed to save brokers from having to frequently reshare business data with their entire panel.
As with the current MSR process, each firm’s Assurance Consultation will be carried out by a Member of the NACFB team, and the reframed process will be phased in over the coming months, initially through new applicants. The change follows feedback from the trade body’s Members who wanted to be able to assure both clients and lenders alike that their NACFB membership embodied the gold standard for intermediary professionalism.
Commenting on the Association’s new era of greater empowerment for Members, NACFB Chair Paul Goodman, said: “The transition for existing Members will be seamless; they will soon benefit from the advantages of being able to demonstrate much more easily and clearly what being part of the NACFB community means.
“SME clients and commercial lenders alike seek assurance that the intermediaries they partner with can demonstrate business integrity, a robustness of processes, and regulatory adherence. The NACFB is providing exactly this, in a manner that empowers Members whilst bolstering the trade body’s growing national reputation for excellence,” Paul added.
NACFB managing director, Norman Chambers said: “The development is primarily a cultural one; a new way of thinking about what NACFB membership means for brokers and how our Members can share this meaning with all organisations they encounter.
“Within the Association we can attest to the professionalism of our membership, but for some, there was a perception that we were acting as a quasi-regulator. However, those who partnered with our team quickly understood the value that the reviews brought. We also recognised that we needed to do a better job of empowering our Members to tell this story through the lens of their own business,” Norman added.
Norman concluded: “The NACFB team is excited to begin sharing with the membership the assurance kit and partnering with all Members to embed the badge of assurance into the transactional lifecycle.”
