‘Fitch Rating Is Sign That We Mean Business’ - Scarborough Chief Exec.

Press release published on 10 November 2006 by Scarborough Building Society

The Chief Executive of Scarborough Building Society Group said the achievement of two Fitch servicer ratings would ‘springboard’ the further growth of SMS Mortgage Services, making it a force to be reckoned with among peers

SMS, which is soon to be renamed, is one of the few mortgage administration providers in the UK to achieve independent accreditation from the international ratings agency for both its primary and specialist lending activities.

The recently awarded independent rating assessment follows a number of years of rapid growth for the Scarborough Building Society subsidiary, which has seen a number of major international investment bank clients signing up – most recently Basinghall Finance PLC and Lehman Brothers.

But John believes SMS’ success with Fitch provides the missing piece of the jigsaw and will take the growth of this already successful business to the next level.

In October, Fitch awarded SMS a 2-* for its prime and sub-prime work, with a 3+** for its administration of specialist loans.

‘I had already publicly stated that, in my opinion, SMS represented the only credible alternative to the larger specialist servicers which dominate this marketplace,’ said John.

‘This is due to the level of expertise and experience SMS and its people have in administering the full spectrum of mortgages – as well as the cutting edge end-to-end mortgage processing systems which electronically join our operations together from application to arrears management.

‘We know that existing clients have been very pleased with the service they have received from SMS, and that – as a result – SMS’ unique offering has been gaining increasing recognition within the sector. Indeed, we have received expressions of interest from major players both at home and overseas, and we are in talks with a number of other significant clients.

‘However, the fact that this capability has now been independently recognised by Fitch Ratings can only further enhance SMS’ already excellent reputation and will, I hope, encourage more organisations to use SMS in the future.

News of SMS’ Fitch servicer rating coincides with the forthcoming re-branding of the Scarborough Group.

This will see the creation of a new brand and identity which visually links the building society with its subsidiary companies. These new visual styles and logos will encompass the core and subsidiary brands within the same ‘family’ and ensure that the Society, asset trading subsidiary North Yorkshire Mortgages (NYM) and new non-conforming lender Scarborough Specialist Mortgages (SSM) will all have the same look and feel.

Though differentiated by colour, the various brand logos will be instantly recognisable as part of the growing Scarborough Group.

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* Fitch ratings are given on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being the highest. According to Fitch , a -2 denotes that an organisation has demonstrated ‘high performance in all relevant categories’, including ‘effective management of a diverse portfolio’, ‘seasoned management team with a history of working together’, with ‘well documented and complete policies and procedures’.

** Fitch award a 3+ rating to organisations which demonstrate ‘efficiency in servicing diverse product groups’, ‘ability to meet investor requirements’ and ‘effective internal controls’.

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