United Trust Bank Bridging appoints director of underwriting 

United Trust Bank (UTB) Bridging has appointed Gene Clohessy to the newly created role of director of underwriting.

Gene has worked in banking and finance for nearly 20 years, holding several senior credit positions including director of underwriting at LendInvest and, most recently, senior proposition manager at Shawbrook Bank. Her skills and experience include service management, market analysis and strategy. 

Over the last year UTB’s underwriting team has been restructured to be able to manage regulated and unregulated bridging applications separately. Dedicated and suitably skilled teams now deal with core business and more complex proposals differently due to the varying requirements of underwriting regulated and unregulated loans. UTB says it has seen a significant increase in refurbishment loan and rebridging enquiries and has an increasing appetite for more complex cases where direct telephone contact with the team’s specialist underwriters would be beneficial, both at application and throughout the transaction.

Gene’s initial priorities will be to continue to develop UTB Bridging’s credit strategy and to identify potential process improvements which can further enhance the Bank’s service proposition and deliver quick and successful outcomes for brokers and customers.

Sundeep Patel, director of bridging at United Trust Bank, commented: “Gene brings a huge amount of experience and know-how with a proven track record of managing high performing teams and delivering an excellent service to brokers. As UTB looks to increase its appetite for more complex and challenging bridging cases in response to broker and customer demand, her experience and success of supporting commercial growth in combination with a degree of underwriting prudence will be invaluable as we continue to develop UTB’s bridging proposition in an evolving marketplace.”

Gene Clohessy said: “l am looking forward to working with UTB’s excellent bridging team and encouraging closer links between underwriting and brokers. Whilst many lenders prefer to keep their credit teams well away from brokers, UTB recognises the benefit close relationships can bring and that united we go further, especially when cases are less straightforward and need a more tailored approach from an experienced underwriter who is empowered to find a way to say yes. UTB has an excellent reputation for reliability, loyalty and delivering what they promise. My aim is to build on that by enabling the team to give brokers more positive decisions quickly so they can provide an excellent service to their customers and UTB can increase its share of the bridging market.”