The Financial Intermediary & Broker Association (FIBA) and the Association of Short-Term Mortgage Lenders (ASTL) have confirmed a new framework for their ongoing education programme for the commercial property finance industry.

The education programme is due to be launched in October this year.

FIBA and the ASTL are working with the London Institute of Banking & Finance (LIBF) to create a series of e-learning modules covering bridging, short-term finance, development finance and specialist buy-to-let.

The confirmed framework provides information on the desired outcomes for the programme and the 10 modules that it will contain. The two associations have suggested the programme will raise professional standards within the specialist property finance industry, as well as improve the understanding of the roles played by brokers, lenders and other professionals throughout the life of a loan.

CEO at the ASTL, Vic Jannels, said: “We have been working alongside our colleagues at FIBA for over a year now to build support and plan the details for such a programme, and being able to confirm the framework is an important milestone.

“We believe that the outcomes of the programme will provide advisers with a more holistic understanding of the whole process and make the borrowing experience more comfortable, and less mysterious, for consumers.

“We won’t be insisting that our members only work with brokers who have been through the programme, or that brokers only work with lenders whose employees have completed the course, but we want to encourage engagement across the industry, not just as a one-off participation, but as part of an ongoing environment of continuing learning.”

FIBA executive chairman, Adam Tyler, added: “I have been involved in education for our sector for many years and this programme is successfully building upon a previous groundwork to deliver a collaborative initiative that is recognised as the definitive learning programme for commercial property finance.

“Working in conjunction with the ASTL and the London Institute of Banking and Finance, we have now developed the essential framework for the programme and we are now appointing authors for the modules, which will help us to deliver the right outcomes to participants, and ultimately to customers.”

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