The Halifax announced yesterday (Wednesday 12th November) that it was to cease offering unsecured loans to borrowers via the intermediary market, which includes loan brokers and financial advisers.

As from the 30th November this year, the lender is withdrawing from the broker market and the only way to obtain an unsecured loan from the Halifax will be to apply directly to them, either in one of their branches, or online via their website.

For someone who may have already applied for an unsecured loan via a broker, this will be unaffected by the decision and the loan will be processed in the normal manner, likewise new broker generated applications will be accepted up to the end of this month.

The decision does not come as a complete surprise, as the Halifax stopped offering new agencies to intermediaries at the beginning of October, although existing brokers were still able to submit loan applications.

A spokesperson for the Halifax explained the decision by saying that the lender was streamlining its operations within its lending business and this move would allow better support for brokers to deal with more complicated areas of finance, such as home owner loans, secured loans and investments, all of which will still be available to brokers and advisers via the Halifax.

Heather Scott of the Halifax said “Intermediaries core business is in the provision of advice for complex personal financial needs. By streamlining in this way we can more closely focus on the core broker advice business, mortgages, pensions and investments.

We continue to offer one of the broadest mortgage and wealth management ranges available via the broker market. Simple personal loans continue to be available either online or direct.”