West One Loans has created a ‘roving underwriter’ to provide key distribution partners with greater case support.  

The specialist lender has appointed Ann-Marie Tarrant, who is currently an office-based underwriter at the business, to the new position.   

Tarrant will visit the firm’s key distributors to help with first and second-charge cases, as well as provide bespoke training to broker firms on its underwriting requirements.  

The lender says she will also have the authority to assess cases on site, “meaning cases should be able to progress more quickly to completion” by cutting down the number of day-one underwriting needs before the case is submitted for approval to its Watford-based underwriting team.    

West One Loans managing director, residential mortgages and second charge, Marie Grundy says: “While remote working has become the norm for some businesses, many people still prefer face-to-face interactions, particularly when dealing with often complicated financial transactions.   

“We know our brokers certainly think that way, which is why it made perfect sense to introduce this role to complement our office-based underwriting team.   

“We want to ensure we are constantly providing a highly responsive and market-leading service, and we are confident this new role will help us achieve that. And in Ann-Marie, an experienced, respected and well-liked underwriter, we feel we have the perfect person for the job.”   

Earlier this month, the company launched a range of first-charge residential mortgage loans that it says are “aimed at borrowers who are underserved by high-street lenders”.    

Its range is open to first-time buyers, home movers and remortgage customers who have typically been unable to secure finance from mainstream lenders.