Donkers appointed Chairman of the Managing Board of STATER N.V.

Amersfoort, The Netherlands, 26 November 2003 - STATER today announces that Rudolph Donkers will take up his post as Chairman of the Managing Board of STATER N.V. as per 1 December. He replaces Rik Douwes who left STATER at the beginning of July.







Rudolph Donkers, (47) studied law, business economics and an MBA in New York/ Rotterdam after which he gained broad senior experience in a 17 year career within the ABN AMRO Bank. Here he developed his entrepreneurial and commercial skills in positions such as Regional Director and also in the Product Development Division of the Business Unit Nederland in which he ultimately had overall responsibility for the Securities Operations.



Donkers has extensive experience in commerce, operational risk management, operational excellence and insourcing.







Donkers' appointment as the new Chairman of the Managing Board โ€" where he will work closely with Director Harry de Brauw - reinforces and supports the change of direction that was announced earlier this year. STATER has changed its strategy to approach large players in the European and Dutch markets, as well as continuing to enhance and optimize its relationship with its current clients.



Notes to Editors



For more Information, please contact:



STATER, Communications Department



Ingrid Archer-van den Berg



Telephone

+31 (0)33 45 09 611



E-mail



i.archer@stater.com



Website

www.stater.com







About STATER N.V.



STATER is the leading provider of independent, third party residential mortgage servicing in Continental Europe. STATER, known as "The EuroServicer" for its Pan-European expansion strategy, is focused on streamlining the origination, servicing and securitization of mortgage loans in a completely automated and paperless format.



With headquarters in Amersfoort, The Netherlands, STATER currently dominates the Dutch market with a servicing share of 30%. STATER has also set up operations in Bonn to provide servicing for the German market and in Brussels for the Belgian market.







STATER is a rapidly growing international company supporting mortgage providers in selling, processing and financing their mortgage portfolio. In January 1997 STATER began their activities as a provider of mortgages for institutions operating in the Netherlands.



Since then STATER has become the most important player in the Dutch market. More recently Germany and Belgium have also become part of their target market. STATER, headquartered in Amersfoort splits its activities into two areas โ€" support and processing of mortgage and insurance portfolios of major players in the mortgage market and consultancy services to the secondary mortgage market. Among other areas STATER is active in portfolio analysis, due diligence and risk management.

Barnsley Building Society UpgradesMortgage Application Processing to SDS Maps'

โ€œWe selected SDS's processing system over several other solutions,โ€ said Steve Lofthouse, Assistant General Manager (Systems) at Barnsley, โ€œSDS Maps has the flexibility and web-enabled technology we were looking for, and it combines all our mortgage processes into one system.โ€







โ€˜SDS Maps' is a fully integrated, thin-client solution, handling a mortgage application from customer enquiry through to completion.







Barnsley plan to take advantage of the system's powerful architecture to deliver the following



E-commerce functions:







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A 'Broker Portal' where IFAs and introducers can login and access product searches, create new applications, track the status of applications in progress and view commissions earned and pending.



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Mortgage search facilities, where potential customers can find out how much they can borrow and details of the mortgage products that best suit their needs.







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Online applications to โ€˜Offer in Principle'. (Applications do not have to be completed in one sitting, customers can return to a partially completed form at any time, an application could even be started in a branch and completed later on a home PC).







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Compliant online quotations.



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Status Tracking.







The system features integrated 'mortgage application specific' workflow that systemises the underwriting process helping staff to focus on service provision. A task creation and management system monitors the whole process and allocates tasks to the most appropriate member of staff in order of timed priorities. Workflow will also enable case tracking to take place as all tasks are electronically recorded and the system will know at what point of the process an application is sitting.



Other key features of the system:







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Powerful document production facilities are an integral part of the system. All documents relating to an application are generated and merged in Microsoft Word format.







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The solution provides management with customisable management information (MIS) functionality, the system features a structured SQL database whereby staff can design and schedule their own reports using standard reporting tools.







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โ€˜SDS Maps' is capable of producing pre-application mortgage illustrations and has been designed to be flexible enough to handle any future changes to compliance regulation.



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SDS's solution allows two-way data transfers using Open XML.







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At draw down, cases then can be transferred electronically to the accounting and administration system.







โ€œSDS's staff are so easy to work with,โ€ continued Lofthouse, โ€œThey are professional, organised, helpful and have an in-depth knowledge of mortgage processing and the UK mortgage market. SDS's solution will allow for improved performance and functionality, which ultimately saves us both time and money.



I feel we have made the right choice in selecting SDS.โ€







The application is currently in the user-testing phase and is due to go live at the end of April.







โ€˜SDS Maps' forms part of SDS's integrated suite of mortgage systems which include;



โ€˜E-maps' & โ€˜IFA-Maps'- for interactive on-line applications, status tracking and IFA support and



โ€˜MyPage' โ€" the customisable e-banking module, which allows Lenders to provide affordable e banking services to their customers















About Barnsley Building Society



The Barnsley Building Society was formed in 1853, with nine branches in the Yorkshire area, backed by an agency network covering North Yorkshire to Warwickshire; the Society prides itself on its 'local' attitude to its members' requirements.



For additional information, contact Steve Lofthouse on 01226 733999 or visit the company's Website at www.barnsley-bs.co.uk







About SDS Applications Ltd



SDS specialises in the provision of systems and services to mortgage lenders. Since our inception in 1997 SDS have introduced new and innovative systems to the UK mortgage market, providing high quality applications exploiting the business advantages available using thin-client Internet technology. We have quickly become established as a leading supplier to this sector as a result of our cost effective solutions.



SDS leads the industry by putting its customers' success first.







Recent Clients in the Mortgage & Lending sector include GMAC RFC, Cambridge Building Society, Universal Building Society and National Counties Building Society.







For more information, contact Justin Belcher or Barry Yager on 01494 778863, via email at press@sdsapps.co.uk, or visit the Internet site at www.sdsmortgages.com

Why Do You Need to Use a Mortgage Adviser?

Taking out a mortgage is probably the biggest financial commitment you will ever choose to make. The term of the loan will probably last until you are near to retirement age and in many cases the loan amount will become larger as you move up the property ladder.

So, as a mortgage seeker, what is the most important factor to consider when researching all of the different mortgage options?
For most people it is to simply find the best interest rate on the market but if it really was that simple then everyone would always get the best mortgage products available!

Many homebuyers first stop is their current bank.



In some cases they find that their own personal circumstances do not match the lending criteria of their bank and may leave feeling disillusioned with the whole process.

It is also true that many people who do fit their banks criteria accept the first rate the bank offers them, without researching the whole of the mortgage market and never realising that there may be far better products on the market that would suit their own personal needs.

There are often many different obstacles in the way to make it very difficult and confusing for you to choose the correct mortgage option, and this is where a mortgage adviser can come in very handy.



A mortgage adviser is a qualified professional who either offers mortgages from the whole of the market, is tied to one particular lender or offers advice from a panel of lenders.

What are the different types of Mortgage Advisor?

There are mainly three different types of mortgage adviser. These being: -

1. An adviser who has access to the whole of the mortgage market.
2. An adviser who is tied to a panel of lenders.



3. An adviser who is tied to a single lender.


It may be beneficial to use a mortgage adviser who has access to the whole of the mortgage market as they can match your needs to the best mortgage product from the whole mortgage market that fits your own personal circumstances.

Many of the products available to the adviser will not be accessible to the average person on the high street, again allowing them to give you the choice of a better mortgage product.



This gives a mortgage adviser offering whole of market advice a distinct advantage over many individual lenders' as they are not tied to any one product or lender. Always check with your adviser to confirm if they source mortgages from the whole of the market!

Another big advantage of using an adviser is the amount of time they can save you! Firstly they will take your initial details by way of a fact find i.e. salary, credit history, property value, deposits etc.



An adviser will research the products available to find a mortgage, which is suitable for your circumstances. A key part of the adviser's job is to match your details with the lenders criteria. For example, if you had a poor credit history and were self employed with only two years accounts the adviser would research the products available to them to find you a company that can provide a suitable mortgage based on these circumstances.

Once a mortgage has been sourced and you are happy to proceed, an adviser can also save you valuable amounts of time and effort by working with your mortgage lender and solicitor to ensure that you complete your mortgage or remortgage as quickly as possible.



When you have a busy life it is often difficult to find the time to chase the lender or solicitor, in many cases you end up speaking to a variety of people, not understanding the jargon that they use and ending up feeling frustrated and stressed. An adviser can help alleviate some of this stress by doing the chase ups on your behalf, saving you valuable time.

Things to be aware of when choosing an adviser

The Financial Services Authority regulates most mortgage sales taken out on or after 31 October 2004.



This means that mortgage advisers have to adhere to the guidelines and regulations issued by the Financial Services Authority. Advisers have a duty to take reasonable steps to ensure that you can afford a mortgage that is recommended. There are also minimum qualifications that are required to become a mortgage adviser.

It is also important to find out if the adviser charges you any fees. Advisers are paid by the lender on completion of the mortgage.



However there are many advisers who will charge their clients a broker fee so not only are they being paid by the lender they are being paid by you too! This does not mean that the adviser is a disreputable broker, but you may want to make sure you are totally comfortable with any fees they charge.

In conclusion if you are unsure of whether you are going to be able to find the best mortgage yourself then using an adviser might be a good option for you. It is important you use someone you can trust to do their best to offer you the most suitable mortgage deal based on the information you have provided them.



Samantha Dorn has achieved her certificate in mortgage advice and practice. She has been working in the mortgage industry since 1996 and has experience within all aspects of the business from underwriting for lenders to working with packagers giving her vast amounts of knowledge of the mortgage industry. Samantha now runs her own business - Dorn Mortgage Services.