With the loan industry as a whole shrinking over the course of the past couple of years or so and several loan companies and brokers going out of business due to the effects of the credit crunch, it is quite a refreshing change to see a new service being launched for the loan industry.

The insurance giant Legal and General has announced that it is to launch a loan service for financial advisers and loan brokers to be able to source both unsecured loans and secured loans for their clients from the whole of the market.

The service will be available to those intermediaries who are directly authorised by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and will be run via Moneio and the L&G website through their “Lending Wizard”. The service is designed to allow advisers to search for suitable loans for their clients from the whole of the market and should be able to suit all customer needs, requirements and risk profiles.

As the system is online, it will allow loan customers to see exactly what APR (Annual Percentage Rate) they will be paying before they apply and also give them an instant decision in principle as to whether or not they have been accepted for the loan.

Ben Thompson of Legal and General said “With personal loans becoming harder to come by, some customers are finding that the advertised APR rates aren’t always the rates offered on application. People are becoming disillusioned and turning to financial advisers for help. Through our service, advisers will be able to search and compare actual loan rates before an application is made, saving their customers’ time and protecting their credit rating. Plus, it’s a new revenue stream for advisers and we are offering some of the best commission rates in the broker market.”