Paul Goodman steps down as chair of the NACFB

The National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers (NACFB) has announced the resignation of Paul Goodman as chair and director, after nearly 14 years of service, including a decade as chair. There is no doubt he has made a considerable contribution to the industry.

Goodman’s departure comes at a difficult time for the broker-lender channel, with the NACFB and Finance & Leasing Association both currently involved in considering how to make the interaction between lenders and brokers more efficient and effective.

Despite remarkably similar visions of the way forward, the trade associations have not been able to find a way to work together on this project, and have pursued similar strategies but separately.

The industry is concerned about a lack of transparency. It is seen as a vulnerability which can enable fraud (such as the 2021 Arena Television fraud) and provides an opportunity for bad actors to remain undetected. Both associations have been looking for ways to tighten up on all this.

The priority to make change has grown more urgent recently as the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has started to focus on intermediaries, paying particular attention to commission disclosure and historic discretionary commission arrangements as seen in the current probe into the motor finance industry. The FLA announced their long-gestating broker forum shortly after the FCA announced they were intervening in the auto finance industry. It has been designed to increase the level of interaction and therefore alignment between lenders and brokers on the big issues.

The asset finance industry is keen to learn lessons from auto and apply them to their own sector. The lenders need brokers buy-in to achieve change. Asset finance has similar arrangements in place to auto, including discretionary commission arrangements.

Both NACFB and FLA see an opportunity to improve transparency by overhauling the current system of reviews that currently take place individually between lenders and brokers. The NACFB and FLA hope to replace this duplicated effort, wholly or in part, with a single audit review which each lender can rely on and has the potential to benefit all parties. The NACFB have run their scheme for some years. The FLA are launching a similar scheme now.

Paul Goodman see his departure from the NACFB as bitter-sweet. He leaves at a time when the broker-lender channel is reorganising, and making big decisions.

Goodman has had a long and distinguished history at the NACFB, guiding the association through an expansion phase and increase in broker membership, and helping to establish NACFB Mutual and the NACFB Broker Academy. He will be missed.

His successor will now need to grapple with the challenges that Paul has faced during his 14 years at the association, including how to forge a stronger relationship between the NACFB and the FLA.