'ING brokers,' you have company

ING brokers in Canada meet ING brokers in the UK, now feeling your pain as they learn of their own departing lender.

ING brokers in Canada meet ING brokers in the UK, now  feeling your pain as they learn of their own departing lender.

Barclays, the new owner of ING Direct (UK), confirmed rumours Friday that it will cease accepting new mortgage applications from brokers effective Feb. 28 – some 13 days after a Scotia-owned ING Direct moves to do the same in this country.

The lender confirmed to Mortgage Solutions, a Brit version of MortgageBrokerNews, “that all mortgages still being processed on that date would be completed but that no new business would be accepted from that date."

Like its Canadian counterpart, the UK arm of ING Direct was sold off to help the Dutch-based bank pay down debt to the Western European government. In the process, Barclays will transfer all of ING (UK) business over to its book. It’s a slightly different tack from the one Scotia is taking.

The big Canadian bank is planning to keep ING’s mortgage division active, but to specifically focus originations on a direct-to-consumer approach. Brit brokers – again, not unlike Canadian ones – have been encouraged to send new deals to the new owner of ING.

It's uncertain how successful either campaign will be, as mortgage lenders in both channels step up their courtship of brokers strongly connected to ING.