• Simrat will help shape manual underwriting to support underserved borrowers

Specialist lender Afin Bank has appointed Simrat Gill as Senior Underwriter, a key hire for the bank as it continues to build its mortgage proposition and services for launch later in the year².

Simrat brings extensive experience of the specialist mortgage market, including almost eight years as Senior Underwriter at Precise Mortgages and nearly three years with buy-to-let lender Landbay.

While designed with Africans living in the UK in mind, who can find it difficult to get a mortgage from mainstream lenders because of their visa status or lack of credit history, Afin Bank says its lending products may also be suitable for UK resident customers, including high-net-worth professionals and self-employed borrowers.

Simrat said it was the chance to work with customers who are often poorly served by the highly automated approach of mainstream lenders that made the role at Afin Bank so appealing.

She said: “The opportunity struck me as truly unique. I appreciate that we will be focusing on borrowers who are not specifically served by the mainstream market and that our goal is to make customers feel like individuals, rather than just numbers.”

While Afin Bank will be embracing technology to deliver speedy and efficient service, its underwriting will be primarily manual because of the often-complex nature of its borrowers’ circumstances. 

Simrat explained: “It is actually refreshing to take on a role that involves more manual underwriting, rather than being fully automated. With our approach, we can review factors such as visa status, credit and income, that other lenders would probably reject as a risk because they can’t validate them using a completely automated approach.”

Simrat will be based at Afin Bank’s new Centre of Excellence in Birmingham, which will be home to the bank’s core functions such as credit and underwriting and customer service.

Swaraj Dada, Afin Bank’s Head of Credit, said: “Simrat brings a lot of experience of the specialist mortgage sector, but her knowledge and passion for manual underwriting brings an extra dimension. Afin Bank’s aim is to make getting a mortgage as effortless as possible, so Simrat’s expertise will help us develop an underwriting approach that puts the customer first, while still being efficient and reliable.”

Afin Bank, which received its banking licence Authorisation with Restrictions¹ (AwR) in October last year, is backed by African reinsurer WAICA Re, which has committed £62m to setting up the bank. It will offer a range of residential and buy-to-let mortgages next year for borrowers in the UK as well as buy-to-let borrowers in certain African countries, alongside an FSCS-protected savings proposition. 

For more information about Afin Bank visit www.afinbank.com and follow it on @AfinBankUK on X and Instagram.

ENDS

Contact Paul Beadle: Email Paul.Beadle@afinbank.com or Mbl 07801 105001

Notes to editors

¹ In carrying out the regulated activity of accepting deposits, the aggregate amount of deposits held by the firm at any time may not exceed £50,000. ‘Deposit’ has the meaning given in Article 5(2) of the Financial Services and Markets Act (Regulated Activities) Order 2001.

² Subject to regulatory confirmation.

Afin Bank is a new bank supporting one of the UK’s most under-served but vital and growing communities; people from Africa living and working in the UK. People that are doing important jobs, contributing to society, creating wealth and opportunities.

Banking can be complex, so we’re making it simple. Our mission is to cut out the complicated stuff to deliver simple products and service excellence to make banking effortless.

If you're planning to buy a home or grow your savings, Afin Bank is here for you to achieve your goals. We’re here for you if you’ve moved to the UK and have a passport from certain countries, or if you live in certain countries and wish to invest in the UK property market.*

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