There may be trouble ahead! At least that is the conclusion of Richard Pike, Sales & Marketing Director at Phoebus Software the leading specialist software supplier to a diverse range of mortgage and specialist lenders Pike says:
“Although the Chancellor has been upbeat about the figure, a 0.4% rise in GDP in October is behind some analyst predictions and shows the economy is still struggling to recover in a period of COVID restrictions. On this basis, we are unlikely to see much of an improvement in November, and of course, what affect a potentially subdued Christmas retail boom will have on December’s figures."
Whilst these figures show the sixth month of consecutive growth following the record 19.5% crash in April it is clear the recovery has lost momentum since July and as a result the UK economy remains 7.9% lower than in February. Despite the prospect of a temporary November boost from Brexit stockpiling this is highly unlikely to offset the impact of the second coronavirus lockdown.
The roll out of vaccines of course offers real hope but further lockdown restrictions before the programme can become effective and the threat of a disorderly end to the transition period could severely drag on any economic recovery. It is these concerns that have prompted Pike to add:
“For our industry, from an originations perspective the stamp duty deadline will keep stimulating the market in the short-term and the figures will probably indicate little effect. However, continued economic downward pressure will adversely affect important areas such as unemployment. Consequently, lenders and servicers should be focussing on increasing staffing levels in areas such as collections departments early in Q1 to be ready for an upturn in arrears later in 2021.”
* Founded in 1989 and based in Solihull in the West Midlands, Phoebus was privately owned for nearly 30 years prior to a management buyout (MBO) backed by NorthEdge Capital in June of last year. Under its new ownership structure, the company will continue to aggressively recruit and invest in top talent so that it can continue to deliver world class products and services to its clients.
Phoebus has a strong client portfolio of multinational financial services firms across the building society, banking and loan servicing sectors. In the increasingly fast-paced financial services sector, PSL’s team of over 130 staff delivers software and services that enhance origination and account servicing processes across a range of products, including residential and commercial mortgages, equity release, bridge loans, asset finance and savings.
At the time of the MBO Pike commented:
“Additional investment will enable us to accelerate the development of the Phoebus’ solutions already used by our bank, lender and outsourcing clients in the UK and Ireland. This transaction will be of great benefit to both new and existing clients moving forward.”