25Sep

Meeting funding challenges in challenging times

September 25, 2020 Richard Lumborg 72

During the dire depths of blanket Covid lockdown, it was observed that most businesses quickly divided into three broad categories.

Those that did nothing. Head down, shut up shop, wait and hope it will all just blow over.

Those that adapted. Faced with barriers to normal market channels, they resiliently found ways of reaching customers via alternative distribution methods.

Those that changed. Blocked from any meaningful trading options, they dug deep, innovated and reinvented themselves through new products and services.

Which worked best? It’s a bit early to say. Back in those uncertain days of lockdown, however, all three options were rational responses to very irrational situations. Short-term fixes to see business through until normality returns.

Now, a more important issue is that short-term expediency is becoming a longer-term necessity. The pandemic has accelerated already evolving customer trends and habits, or changed them altogether. As a result, businesses need to change too.

The issue is that doing so may require potentially significant investment. Or at least a cashflow injection while trading recovers. The challenge, as Robbie Lander of local lending specialist Reto Finance sets-out, could be accessing funds in the face of a looming credit crunch.

‘We’ve already seen steps banks are taking as a result of the pandemic. Removing 95% loan-to-value mortgages, for example. And tightening other elements of their mortgage criteria to make releasing equity difficult when people need to do so. It’s about the banks’ attitude to risk, and less about meeting individual customer needs. If the computer says no, then no it is. And no ifs or buts – they simply won’t have the flexibility needed to lend you the money.’

The concern is that access to credit becomes a particular issue for small and medium sized Channel Islands’ businesses. Lending policies established with the UK market in mind may not suit local circumstances. And six month’s pandemic-affected trading figures won’t help the situation. Fundamentally, access to traditional sources of finance may be restricted at exactly the time it’s most needed.

Are there alternatives? Aside from raiding personal funds or selling the family silver? Local lenders such as Reto are one option. With a more flexible approach than the traditional banks, their smaller size, local market understanding and keenness to acquire new business places them as a very viable alternative.

‘We’re not pretending to be a bank, nor directly compete with them,’ Robbie elaborates. ‘But Reto already provides specialist loans and finance to a wide range of businesses. And is very happy to discuss lending requirements with any company or individual needing access to finance in these challenging times. It could be covering an investment in new IT infrastructure, for example, or making premises covid-secure. Or a means of releasing equity to cover day-to-day operations. We’ll ultimately take a locally-made decision based on what we see in front of us, not what the computer says.’

Advantageously, the application process is straightforward, decisions taken quickly and funds made available more or less immediately. Loans can be paid back over an extended period, or used to cover an interim bridging demand.

‘We can offer a short-term fix,’ Robbie concludes, ‘or long-term support. It doesn’t matter whether your business is coming back to life, exploiting new opportunities or becoming something different. Local lenders like Reto are there to help local businesses turn the new normal into a fully funded reality.’

To find out more about business finance options in Jersey and Guernsey, visit www.retofinance.com, email info@retofinance.com or call 01534 886 900 / 01481 886 900.

10Sep

Aryza implements new loans platform with Reto Finance amidst Covid 19 disruption

September 10, 2020 Richard Lumborg 75

Despite the challenges of Covid 19, Channel Islands based fintech lender Reto Finance has successfully implemented Aryza’s SamePage loan management platform migrating their existing portfolio from a legacy asset finance system. Reto Finance formed in 2019 following a local management buy-out of established and respected finance company Shawbrook International. The management identified a clear opportunity to provide customers with no-nonsense, competitive multi-product lending services tailored to local market conditions. The SamePage system and team which was which was set up in 2017, was chosen by Reto Finance as they wanted to source and implement a market leading and dynamic platform supporting a diverse range of financial products to both consumers and corporations including unsecured and secured consumer loans , motor hire purchase and property backed loans . The system needed to deliver more efficient application processing with effective and consistent credit decisioning and underwriting and adaptable and flexible loan servicing. This need to underpin Reto Finance’s objective to improve its overall customer service while supporting the legal jurisdictions of both Jersey and Guernsey. Utilising its experienced team of financial services experts, coupled with its unique mix of modern digital and adaptable software, SamePage delivered a phased approach to delivering an end-to-end solution that automated process, simplified the busines model and improved ease of use and efficiency.

The platform has led to significant improvements in new loan applications processing and underwriting quality and speed and has enabled Reto Finance to quickly launch new introducing partners, and products. Rob Evans, Product Director at SamePage commented that “it has been a great team effort and working in collaboration with the Reto business users ensured we delivered a far more efficient and streamlined business model and solution to meet the future growth targets of the business”. The project required the platform to support the incumbent loan products such as asset finance and secured loans and related process as well as provide support for new consumer and commercial loan products which would help increase market share and opportunities. Colin Brown , Aryza Chief Executive Officer commented “We are delighted that they are already achieving significant benefits, Reto Finance is able to process new business quicker, make faster decisions and collect all relevant data required to support better lending” The platform has been delivered on a cloud-based infrastructure which, during the recent COVID-19 crisis, enabled the entire Reto team to re-deploy to a home-working model with no business interruption. The agility and speed of change of the platform allowed SamePage to quickly enhance and re-configure its products, enabling Reto to offer a combination of Payment Holiday and Concessionary Repayment arrangements, to help their clients through the current crisis. On the success of the new online platform, Reto Finance Chief Executive Officer Adam Dawson said the new system has transformed their business. He commented “the SamePage system and team have been very adaptable and open to new requirements – the answer has been ‘yes’ to our requests. We have had a tremendous response and enhanced perception from our key third parties when viewing and using the system. The team at SamePage have taken ownership of the entire project, allowing Reto to focus on the business, and not be drawn into and distracted by IT and technology issues. The migration of the loan portfolio is a huge undertaking for any lender. The SamePage team took ownership of the process and delivered a successful outcome “I have been delighted with the new system, it is so easy to use, very intuitive and it couldn’t be more straightforward.” The project was split over two phases with the first phase involving originating and managing new business under the newly branded Reto Finance. The second phase involved a comprehensive migration of the legacy portfolio to the SamePage platform. Both phases were delivered on time and budget over the period of September 2019 to May 2020, despite the unprecedented challenges that were presented as part of the recent pandemic.

28Jul

Taking your work home with you?

July 28, 2020 Richard Lumborg 76

Reto Finance explores home office options and considerations

Let’s be straight. The idea of home working is nothing new. Bosses and staff have been toying with the concept for years – it just never really became mainstream. Until now.

This pandemic is responsible for resetting so many expectations and outlooks. And it has certainly proved the concept of home working, as a necessary expedient at first, but now as a realistic and attractive choice for many.

Little wonder a recent CIPD survey found nearly 40 percent of UK employees plan to continue regularly working from home once things have gone back to ‘normal’. No doubt. Home working is here to stay.

Leading local lender Reto Finance is starting to see the trend. While home finance applications initially slowed as lockdown started, enquiries are on the way up once more. One driver, CEO Adam Dawson is certain, are plans to create more adaptable living spaces – for both work and play.

‘Makeshift home office arrangements were all well and good when first going into lockdown,’ he explains. ‘But seconded dining tables, edge of worktop perches and occupied spare bedrooms are hardly ideal. Effective home working needs space, facilities and privacy. And it’s not just about productivity. We need to consider our health and wellbeing too. So, our clients thinking about working from home permanently are starting to think about the best permanent arrangements to allow this.’

Adam outlines three popular approaches. First is creating a dedicated workstation within an existing room. Second is converting a spare bedroom or similar space into a study. Last – and outside space permitting – is adding a purpose-built ‘garden room’, a choice that may suit other uses too.

‘The pandemic hasn’t just driven working from home,’ Adam continues, ‘but forced other normally face-to-face activities online too. Spaces created for work also make great exercise workout studios. Or perhaps for use as art and craft workshops. Online classes will continue being offered in the future – they may even become the ‘new norm’. So, people should think about creating some dedicated space allowing personal activities to take place without affecting the home use of everyone else.’

Ultimately, the choice of permanent homeworking arrangements will depend on individual requirements, the space available and affordability. Whatever the final choice, however, Adam hopes that people will commit to the best possible quality rather than short term expediency.

‘Being seriously committed to home working means making a serious commitment to home office facilities,’ he impresses. ‘It’s got to aid work and wellbeing. And potentially add long term property value too. Given the trend, future buyers will be drawn to houses with home working facilities. So, it makes sense to aim for the best arrangements you can afford.’

To help, Reto offers several home improvement finance packages starting with unsecured loans up to £50K and secured options for higher amounts. And, as Adam points out, the pandemic has underlined reasons for choosing an independent finance provider.

‘Our approach to lending has always been informal, flexible and timely,’ he explains, ‘meaning a straightforward application process and swift decision. With all the present unpredictability, people need certainty now more than ever. And Reto offers that to anyone thinking about investing in their property. Whether it’s for improved home working, more enjoyable home living, or replacing a kitchen, bathroom or bedroom. We’re all likely to spend more time at home for the foreseeable future – why not make the most of what we’ve got.’

To find out more about home working or home living improvement finance packages in Jersey and Guernsey – email info@retofinance.com or call 01534 886 900 / 01481 886 900.

09Dec

Local lending logic

December 9, 2019 Reto Finance 91

Reto Finance offers expert insight on the Island’s loan industry

There’s no doubting the impact of technology on all our lives. From personal, to home, to work, smart devices and applications have changed so much of what we used to take for granted. Mostly for the better; sometimes for worse. But at a pace and with purpose that seems unrelenting.

As well as exhibiting a very public face, technology has been quietly changing things behind the scenes too. Increasingly, automation, algorithms and artificial intelligence help organisations process data, busily sifting and sorting to make decisions that hitherto sat in human hands. Progress? Probably. Inevitable? Certainly.

The lending industry is a case in point. In times past, people not machines would have considered loan applications. They worked to a set of rules, of course, made decisions based on consistent criteria. Yet discretion and subjectivity based on intelligence and intuition could still sway matters one way or another.

Is this all but lost to technology now? Or does a place remain for human touch when it comes to a personal loan? One person with an insight into the past, present and future of local lending is Adam Dawson, CEO of Reto Finance, one of the island’s newest but also most experienced finance companies.

‘Technology has certainly had a massive impact on the lending industry over the past 20 years,’ acknowledges Adam, who has spent his career in finance and management consulting. ‘Decisions in the UK, for example, have become highly automated. Miss any of the criteria, and you miss out on a loan – it’s as straight forward as that. Fortunately, here in the island there is still room for the personal touch, for considering a person’s wider circumstances and individual requirements before deciding whether to offer a loan or not. It’s one of the reasons I enjoy working for a local company like Reto.’

Adam opened Reto Finance in 2019 after a management buyout of Shawbrook International, the local branch of a major UK finance house. Before this, he ran Close Finance, the company that first brought him and his family to Jersey ten years ago. During this time, he has come to deeply appreciate both island life and the distinct conditions shaping the local lending market.

‘We are so much closer to our customers,’ Adam elaborates, ‘which means Reto can more readily take individual circumstances into account. The amount of fraudulent loan applications here is also much lower, comparatively, the level of bad debt much less. This allows us to be more flexible and accommodating, while also ensuring people are not taking on more than they can afford to pay back.’

There are challenges that come with operating in a small island, Adam admits, such as size of market and cost of doing business. Fortunately, this is presently offset by a less onerous regulatory environment than the UK, something Adam hopes will continue in the future.

‘Customers absolutely need protection against unscrupulous lending,’ he states, ‘and some of the unethical practices seen elsewhere. Reto and other local lenders are presently engaged with island government on developing measures to prevent this. But we should be careful to avoid throwing the baby out with our bathwater. Slavishly following the UK might just lead to UK-style approaches to lending – automated decisions being taken by remote offices, rather than the human touch on offer at Reto.’

Would such a change drive Adam off to some remote office, to leave the island that’s been home for the last ten years?

‘I don’t think the situation will arise,’ he smiles, ‘because the island normally makes pretty logical decisions on such matters. And I don’t think my family would let me. Personal logic now dictates that Jersey is the only place to be.’