Government wants the Post Office to become a major financial player
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The government says it is keen for the Post Office to be a major player in the mortgage market.
Business secretary Lord Mandelson has launched a public consultation on new financial products and services that could be offered by the Post Office.
The consultation outlines a number of financial services that the Post Office could offer including current accounts and mortgages.
The Post Office currently offers mortgages through Bank of Ireland, but does not distribute through brokers.
Mandelson says: “I would like to see the Post Office at the forefront of the provision of good value mortgages across the UK. The Post Office has rapidly grown sales of its mortgages and has announced improved rates across its mortgage range.
“Our consultation out-lines exciting proposals but I want people to have their say. This is an opportunity for local communities to tell us what they want from their Post Office.”
But Dan McGeehan, director at Seamless Mortgages, says: “How are consumers going to get good advice on mortgages by going to a Post Office? They will get good value mortgages by having choice and historically this has always been through brokers.”
A spokesman for the Post Office says he cannot speculate on whether the Post Office will start to offer mortgages through brokers, but says at the moment this is not some-thing it is looking at.
The government’s consultation is the next step towards turning the Post Office into a leading player in financial services, offering banking products across its 11,500 branches.
The consultation reinforces the government’s commitment to a secure and sustainable future for the Post Office and follows its investment of up to £1.7bn to 2011.
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