Credit Underwriting at Aldermore An interview with Specialist Underwriting Team Leader - Rojen Amatya Rojen Amatya has been working at Aldermore for over 3 years and is based in the Reading office. He leads a team of 5 credit managers who review proposals and company financials to ensure the most positive outcomes for all cases. We asked Rojen to give us some insight to the Credit Underwriting world and what helps getting deals through.
Rojen Amatya Specialist Underwriting Team Leader T: +44(0)118 955 6847 E: rojen.amatya@aldermore.co.uk
Rojen, what is a typical day for you and your team? A typical day starts with reviewing the team’s deal queue and making sure they are prioritised so that we can process applications as fast as possible. Throughout the day I monitor the queue and field queries from the colleagues or brokers like the AFS ARs. I make sure urgent requests are distributed evenly amongst the team and approve transactions outside their mandates or where policy requires. The team analyses and underwrites proposals sent by our brokers, with deals covering a wide range of assets. I also have various administrative tasks such as Quality Control checking, and when it gets really busy I will start underwriting deals too!
Moving specifically on approving deals, how can brokers help maximise acceptance? To start with, all funders will have a certain limit for deals and risk, and Aldermore and AFS can work together to ensure we understand each other’s appetite. If ARs are unsure, Paul Richards, Tamara Hoffmann and Fran Pitts are always there to advise on specific proposals and to help you get a deal processed to the next stage. Then, the main element in our decision-making is to confirm the serviceability of debt. To help us with this process, accurate information is key and this is especially relevant for larger transactions where we generally require more details to support the application, such as a full set of financial statements, up to date MI, bank statements, proof of income, P60, Statement of High Net Worth (where applicable). This critical information is used to make our decisions, if there is any adverse information such as returned or unpaid items in the bank statements, then it is highly unlikely that we will have appetite for the deal. Therefore identifying any of these prior to submitting a proposal will help you determine straight away if this deal is for Aldermore and help us get to a decision quicker. Sometimes, unfortunately deals can’t be accepted – what would be some of the reasons for this? • Serviceability: not being able to show that the additional debt requested is serviceable from the financial statements and/or bank statements. • Size of transaction: sometimes the size of a deal or the risks in the transaction are considered too great for Aldermore to support, even if customers can demonstrate affordability and are creditworthy. This can also happen when existing and repeat customers reach a certain level of exposure with Aldermore that is too high. • Adverse information held against the customer: this is not limited to Credit Bureau searches and will include information found online which could be considered to be damaging to Aldermore’s reputation or not in line with our Credit Policy. • Non-policy compliant transactions, for which Aldermore has no appetite to support: e.g. finance leases for cars, Sale and HP Back in Scotland, Marine and Aircraft Finance, fur trade and other activities as set out in our Credit Policy. • Other reasons not directly related to credit risk: for example, where we are unable to determine where a High Net Worth Individual has gained their wealth from, or when information is withheld on a deal and is found at a later date by our Financial Crime Department. These criteria help inform our decision-making but, please don’t take no for a (final!) answer and feel free to call me to discuss further.
Get to know the Specialist Underwriting Team
Adam McCarthy T: +44(0)118 911 0371
Martin Thundercliffe T: +44(0)118 911 0836
Tiziana Mirenda T: +44(0)118 207 6387
Sophie O’Hara T: +44(0)118 955 6713
Rebecca Dove T: +44(0)118 955 6633
Italian and spicy foods are top of the menu for Adam, who loves Motosports and supports Manchester United, when he is not busy listening to his extensive collection of CDs!
Salt & Vinegar Crisps will get you Martin’s favours ! A hardcore Swindon Town FC fan, his love for travelling has taken him to 15 European countries … and counting !
Tiziana has a soft spot for Italian food and the All Blacks rugby team ! And she keeps active with skiing and hiking.
Sophie’s favourite food is Thai and she is not impartial to a good cup of tea ! She grew up supporting Bath’s rugby team and loves travelling, cars and cats.
Classic Sausage & Mash or Wagamama’s more exotic taste are the favourite of our “Mrs Hinch, Domestic Goddess” wannabe Rebecca.
FOR INTERMEDIARY USE ONLY Aldermore Bank PLC is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. (Financial Services Register number: 204503). Registered Office: 1st Floor, Block B, Western House, Lynch Wood, Peterborough, PE2 6FZ. Registered in England. Company No. 947662.
AF0144