November 2008 - Legal & General believes that mortgage networks must rapidly evolve, just as advisers are having to do, in order to adapt and survive the extreme market conditions. Duncan Crocker, Managing Director of Intermediary Distribution at Legal & General said: “In recent months, the role of a network has shifted to provide focussed sales training to mortgage businesses. These businesses are looking to secure their futures by giving advice, especially to existing clients, across a much broader range of mortgage-related protection and wealth client needs. We maintain a large team of development managers on the road giving sales training, have a proven CRM system and we are also exploring and implementing options to help provide financial support to our partners through the current market downturn.”

Legal & General is providing additional support in these difficult times, such as bespoke training to further develop the skills required to generate sales on the back of Legal & General’s protection and general insurance campaigns. This may include enhanced adviser commission and adviser or customer incentives. It is also providing coaching for firms to build confidence in order to maximise new appointments and to identify potential customer leads.
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As well as continuing to work more closely with existing partners, Legal & General is also attracting increasing numbers of new distribution partners because of the range of options available to both directly authorised (DA) and appointed representative (AR) brokers. Recent new trading partners include:

• MoneyQuest Mortgage Brokers Ltd(appointed representative of the Legal & General mortgage network, Legal & General Partnership Services Limited)
• Tenet (Legal & General sole-tie protection added as an option to the Tenet network)
• John Charcol (Legal & General sole-tie for protection and MPPI)
• The Share Centre (Legal & General sole-tie for wealth products)

Duncan Crocker added: “Legal & General has a very broad spread of distribution partnerships, ranging from large banks to small IFAs. What attracts firms to be aligned with us is our enviable financial strength, strong brand and our diverse range of solutions to suit all business models. Brokers can, for example, choose to become a part of our regulated mortgage network if they don’t want the risk or cost burden of being directly authorised.

“They will then have access to our mortgage club, protection, GI and wealth management products. Similarly they can, for example, choose to remain directly authorised yet take a sole-tie agreement for protection and GI whilst using our DA mortgage club. Either way, what they are saying is that in tough times, they want to work with host partners that have longevity, capital certainty and are trustworthy.”

About Legal & General in the Housing market:

Legal & General’s mortgage network was set up when mortgage regulation came into effect (2004) to distribute mortgage-related insurance via a network of tied mortgage advisers. The company, called Legal & General Partnership Services Limited, provides compliance services, support and sales training to mortgage advisers.

Legal & General also has one of the biggest mortgage clubs in the country which acts as a one-stop-shop for mortgage advisers to access lenders’ products. With over 10,000 members who are either directly authorised or appointed representatives of the mortgage network, the Legal & General Mortgage Club has the weight to negotiate the best exclusive deals with lenders. Advisers can use the Club to access almost all lenders in the UK market from one portal. In 2007, over £25 billion of mortgage applications went through the Club.

Duncan Crocker said: “The Club is a strategically critical piece of the overall Legal & General package because of its links to our wider financial services relationships in the banking sector. For other networks, a mortgage club may be just a profit-generating or cost-covering vehicle, but for us it is a vital piece of a unique distribution jigsaw. Our resolve to protect and grow the Club is therefore very strong.”

Notes to Editors:

• This press release is issued by Legal & General Partnership Services Limited. Registered office: One Coleman Street, London EC2R 5AA.
• The information contained in Legal & General’s press release is intended solely for journalists and should not be used by consumers to make financial decisions.

About Legal and General

Legal & General makes financial security easier to achieve for millions of people. To many retired people, the pension fund they have built up over the years is what they now depend on. To people of working age, the savings they make into ISAs, unit trusts and pensions funds are a vital source of reassurance today and financial security in the future. At every stage of life, people seek financial security and protection for themselves, their loved ones and their possessions. Through our range of general insurance and protection products we help protect the lives, the health, the homes and the belongings of millions of people.

The Publicity Team
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website: www.legalandgeneral.com