Paradigm has announced the launch of a new lender product withdrawals directory for intermediary firms.

The distributor believes the directory is the first of its kind in the mortgage industry.

The directory includes the product withdrawal policies of over 50 lenders currently on the Paradigm lender panel.

It covers each lender, the notice period they have outlined and, in most cases, detailed commentary from each explaining the policy and its past performance.

The company says its intention is to provide clarity to adviser firms so they can use the information in their lender selection, alongside other factors such as price, criteria, affordability, financial strength and product transfer policies.

Paradigm will update the directory as it receives more responses, describing it as ‘a living and breathing document that firms can tap into whenever they need to’.

It stressed the policies may not be ‘set in stone’ and not always be adhered to due to factors including market volatility and the ability to maintain service levels/margins.

Paradigm’s director of mortgages, Richard Howes, says: “There have been calls for an industry-wide commitment to at least 24-hours’ notice and we know that very short notice periods for either product pulls or rate changes, heap a significant amount of pressure on advisers and lenders which increases their workload considerably.

“Our aim here is to provide an extra layer of information and education to advisers which they can build into their research work for clients, and they can utilise in order to come to their final product/lender recommendation.”