IFG's joint venture with GE Capital in the mortgage market has got off to a slow start and may be facing unexpected competition from the UK, The Irish Times understands.
The Dublin-listed financial services company last year announced that it was selling 50 per cent of its mortgage arm to GE Capital and that the pair would launch a speciality product for clients with poor credit ratings.
At the time, the company said earnings from this "sub-prime" product would offset €400,000 of the €900,000 reduction in profits that would results from the sale of its home loans business.
However, this element of the business has not taken off as quickly as both partners expected, although it is not clear how much the shortfall for the year will be.
It has also emerged that UK operator Kensington Mortgages, which specialises in sub-prime home loans, could be about to enter the Irish market. A note from analysts with Merrion Stockbrokers yesterday suggested that the British player had poached a number of IFG staff.
Two senior managers have left IFG Mortgages recently, but it is not known where they intended going.
A spokesman for Kensington said yesterday that the company had nothing to report. The IFG/GE sub-prime loans are remortgage products aimed at individuals with a blot on their credit records.
