June 2018
By Adam Tyler, executive chairman at FIBA
This is an exciting and busy time for FIBA. Not only are we already taking part in discussions on the future of SME funding at Westminster and running member events across the UK during the year – check the website for the ones nearest you – but we have just rolled out our Member Benefits package, of which I am especially proud.
FIBA’s Member Benefits package is designed to provide holistic support in all areas relevant to your business life as an adviser. Among the benefits is exclusive business premises insurance and discounted intelligent reporting software, as well as access SmartSearch – a client verification platform – and our compliance solutions, which in particular are second to none.
Housed in an attractive and easy-to-use hub, FIBA members can explore a range of services and tools that will meet their day-to-day business needs, as well as enhance and add value to their offering.
Naturally, GDPR has its own section to help advisers tackle the recent regulatory changes and keep themselves informed during the early days of implementation and beyond. A dedicated lender partner directory makes finding FIBA-accredited funders easy – cutting down the time it takes to source the right lending solutions for your clients.
At our first conference in January, I made it clear that FIBA did not only exist to provide members with a voice to represent you at the highest level with regulators, lenders and government, but also that we were working on a package of services which would offer real life benefits to members.
Less than five months after making the initial announcement, members now have access to a suite of some of the most sophisticated services and assistance available from any trade body. Equally importantly, all of the individual segments of the Members’ Benefits package are available separately or together and there is no pressure to use any of the services. Your £20 per month membership fee opens the door to a wealth of assistance and information when you need it. Also, by being part of a trade body you are playing a valuable part in helping to shape the future of the industry we love.
As the year has progressed, not only have we run our regional workshops featuring the live deal room in locations around the country, but we have exhibited and chaired panels at expos as well. We have also co-hosted broker events alongside media partners and our members, and our ‘on the road’ approach has been enthusiastically received by members and supporting lenders that have managed to get to these events. Our next appearance will be in Cardiff at the end of June and we are also hoping to be part of the specialist mortgage shows coming up in July in Birmingham, and August in Manchester. Our own regional workshops resume again in September, details of which are on the website: https://www.fiba.org.uk/events/listings/
Please take the opportunity to look at our Member Benefits package and I look forward to welcoming you to our upcoming events!