Metathesiophobia – the fear of change. To some degree we all suffer from this – first-day nerves in a new job, weighing up the pros and cons of purchasing a new car or even something as simple as choosing a different toothpaste.

As we head into the New Year, the mortgage industry will have to embrace change in the form of the European Mortgage Credit Directive (EMCD). The second charge mortgage market will, in particular, bear the brunt of this thanks to a change in definition of a regulated mortgage contract. 

While change can often induce opposition, it should also be viewed as a cathartic process and one that allows for taking stock, and, particularly in a business environment, enabling a closer inspection of what works and what doesn’t. 

EMCD is an opportunity for businesses to review what propositions they currently offer and to innovate them accordingly. With the regulation of the second charge market coming in-line with that of the first charge, it affords us as an industry to be, more than ever before, a viable option for a multitude of customers - but only if we are prepared to invest in our customer proposition and innovate.

Over the past year, one of the key drivers for Prestige has been its ability to adapt to change.  We’re constantly striving to demonstrate innovation in everything we do - not only with our products, but also in terms of our intermediary relationships and ultimately, our customer relationships too. 

Our commitment to innovation has come to the fore in the last nine months; Prestige has launched three major new products: our new fixed rate product range, the Prime range’s maximum loan size increase and our new buy-to-let products for second charge lending. The inceptions of these propositions were informed by our ongoing dialogue with brokers, and critically therefore, were a response to the demands of the market. It required us to adopt a different mind-set in our approach to the creation, delivery and fulfilment of these products

So, while EMCD will mean change for the mortgage industry as a whole, it will also mean a lot of head scratching and business re-engineering for some if not many - a process made even harder for those who don’t like change or who have never been through it. Personally, I’m glad Prestige has undertaken its own change process over the last year, with the upshot being that we learnt how to innovate along the way. Most importantly of all, we learnt that change affords opportunity, and capitalising on that opportunity leads to success.