It’s often said that strong broker relationships are everything in Asset Finance and for Giles Hussey, Senior Underwriter at UTB Asset Finance, that’s never been truer than when funding high value cars (HVCs).
| Giles has previously worked with Hitachi Capital and ING and joined UTB in January 2020 becoming the lead underwriter for HVC deals, a sector which has become one of the Bank’s real growth success stories, funding everything from brand new supercars to classics. Here he explains why UTB are a great choice for HVC deals and why you’re more likely to find him by a riverbank than by a racetrack when he has a rare few hours to himself. |
What makes a solid deal?
Strong terms, a clear rationale for the asset (Although that’s not always there when customers are buying expensive cars!) and an existing relationship. The relationship is sometimes worth just as much as the financials you are reviewing. We’ve worked with most of our brokers for a long time and have built some fantastic relationships and a huge amount of trust. So, if a broker has known a customer for decades and funded everything for them over that time, that speaks volumes about the creditworthiness of the customer and gives confidence before you even open the financials.
What do you enjoy most about funding HVCs?
No two deals are the same. We fund new and used cars including rare marques and classics, so one moment you could be reviewing a brand-new Rolls Royce Phantom and the next a 1960s DB4. The customer could be a standard company director, an ultra HNWI or a keen collector of classic cars.
Proving affordability can sometimes be challenging with self-employed income varying for customers year on year. You have to use your skills to read between the lines when assessing bank statements, tax returns, company accounts, accountants’ letters, property rental portfolios etc. A customer’s background wealth and true income (especially for a HNWI) may not be as obvious as someone with a salaried position.
What’s our turnaround time on a HVC deal?
In an ideal world we would have every car deal in and out within a few hours and that’s our aim. Cars are an emotional purchase, and customers usually want to pick their car up as soon as possible. With dealer finance often offering a very fast turnaround it’s very competitive. A majority of our HVC deals are turned around within 24 hours but with better technology and systems this is getting quicker.
What does UTB do that can really help a broker secure a deal?
We have a very flexible credit policy which gives our underwriters freedom to construct a deal when non-standard terms are required, especially when funding HVCs. That might be a lower deposit than usual, larger balloon or structured overpayments – we have the ability to flex when required. Our Brokers also have direct access to the credit team which really speeds up the process when you need to discuss a deal, and provide additional clarity in complex situations. A short conversation over the phone may lead to a ‘subject to’ approval rather than a lengthy referral process via email. Or we may pre-vet a customer, so the broker knows whether to propose the deal to UTB at all. All this speeds things up for the broker and customer and ultimately allows them (and us) to deliver a better service.
Do we have any HVC deal USPs?
Dedicated underwriting queue for HVC deals
Direct access to credit
Commercial underwriting approach
Flexibility on terms
No aged asset policy
3 top tips when presenting a HVC deal to UTB
1) Tell us how you know the customer. Are they an existing customer? Have they been introduced by another customer of yours? Are they existing customers of the dealer? Or are they a completely brand-new customer to you? The introduction source is incredibly important for us and it’s also mandatory on every deal as part of our internal policy.
2) Build a picture – a background write-up on your customer really helps us build a picture in our minds of a customer’s creditworthiness, so tell us all about them. Who are they? What do they do? Why are they buying the proposed vehicle? Is it a replacement? What’s their income? How do they qualify as HNW if applicable? Is there anything unusual we should be aware of on their searches, if so, can you explain? The more background information you can provide, the easier it is for us to underwrite it first time around and should lead to more and quicker approvals for you and your customers.
3) Evidence – If a customer tells you they earn £xxxx ask them if they can evidence it. If they tell you they own three additional properties, ask them for the addresses. If they tell you they don’t draw much income each year but are sitting on a large cash reserve which funds their day-to-day lifestyle, ask them if they can prove it. We appreciate that some additional information is tricky to obtain up front, but things like additional property addresses should be straightforward. We are very likely to ask for evidence as part of an approval so the customer should be aware that anything they tell you, they will likely have to back-up with evidence at some point.
Giles Hussey Q&A
Memorable personal moment – Getting married. It was memorable for lots of different reasons. Obviously magical and filled with love, friends and family, but what really stood out was that the Maid of Honour concussed herself diving head-first into the shallow end of the pool the day before the wedding. The Portuguese doctors did a great job of stitching her up, however the wedding photos will forever have her lovely sticky plaster on her forehead as a reminder for us.
Favourite drink? – A nice, ice cold pint of squash
Favourite film – Anything from the marvel universe…
Favourite pastime or passion – I’m a very keen fisherman although I don’t get enough time to really enjoy it as much as I would like to. I live fairly close to a few good rivers and lakes and try to get in yearly trips to the Itchen and the Wye which are a bit further away. It’s an incredibly peaceful hobby and you get to see some really beautiful scenery at some really mesmerising times of day – misty mornings and magnificent sunsets. There’s also something incredibly relaxing about sitting quietly next to water. I’ve done it since I was a kid and will never grow bored of it.