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Intelligent
Finance or more commonly called as IF is a commercial bank, which
operates in the United Kingdom. They function through the Internet and
telephone. Intelligent Finance is
a division of Halifax PLC. Halifax PLC is a part of the larger organization
Halifax Bank Of Scotland. The headquarters of IF are situated in Halifax
and West Yorkshire and they have several branches for customer services
located at many places in Scotland like Livingston, West Lothian, Rosyth
and Fife. History of the bank : Intelligent
Finance was established by Jim Spowart in the year 2000. Jim Spowart
has made significant contribution towards the finance sector by establishing
several other direct financial service firms. IF was established in the
age of technology when every other bank was resorting to technology to
cut the cost of the services provided by them. In the other hand IF concentrated
on their nature of services and termed their various services as Intelligent
Products. Initially the bank faced few technical setbacks but gradually
it gained strong hold in the market especially in the mortgage and current
account market. Business management activities
: When a customer attaches himself to
the various services or the intelligent
products of the bank he gets entitled to hold several accounts at the
same time. The customer can hold all the accounts in the bank or some
of the range of accounts like the current account, saving account, mortgage
and credit cards. The credit balance in the savings and current account
of a multiple account holder automatically transforms into debit balance
for his mortgage and credit card accounts. The interest thus paid by the
customer is on the net balance of all the accounts. Thus the savings through
these services are made on the money borrowed by the customer. The bank
has structured various services according to the market need, which, are
developed around their basic mode of operation. The bank generally assists
the customer to choose the particular program that will optimally fulfill
his requirements. The bank manages the finances of its customers right
from the stage when they apply for the assistance till all the financial
settlements are being made. The financers pay the bank after all the financial
settlements are being made, thus the customer end up paying almost nothing
barring a few nominal charges. The bank tends to get their customers better
rates for their loans by negotiating with the business institution offering
the loan. The customers might not have got rates for their loan as good
as this one if they have individually approached the business organization.
The bank also extends their services after everything is settled. The
bank addresses any queries by the customers regarding the services of
the bank, the financial settlements they have made for the customer through
telephone calls. Services offered by the bank
: There are various services offered by
the bank, which are categorized according to the nature of the services
offered. 1) Property Mortgages the bank helps
to arrange finances for all types of properties like residential, commercial
and industrial. The loans arranged can be of any type like full documented
loans, low documented loans and no documented loans. Thus customers get
wider range to choose from. 2) Lease, Hire, Purchases and Chattel
Mortgages this type of loans are arranged against various types of purchases.
The purchase could be of a car or some of the equipments and even various
materials for renovating the office. Thus finance scheme helps to ease
out the cash flow during the hour of need. 3) Foreign Property Investment this
scheme enables the customers to buy a property in the foreign land especially
in the Australia. The bank assists the customers to choose the right property,
then arrange the finance and even help them to get a solicitor. The bank
also provides the customers with a managing agent and a personal bookkeeper
or administrator so that they get complete report on the investment they
have made and can ensure a smooth progress of the project. 4) Investment Seminars the bank organizes
various seminars to spread awareness regarding the finance sector. They
also arrange programs that are tailor made for the industry people who
want to learn about a particular area of finance. The topic of the seminars
generally include mortgage minimization, selection of the best loan products,
first home buyers, what the banks do not want you to know, when to use
finance instead of cash. 5) Property Syndicates in this program
various investors are brought together and the cumulative wealth of all
the investors are being invested in various investment programs. 6) Insurance Premium Funding This scheme
enables you to get your insurance premium financed. The period of repayment
may vary from 8 to 12 months. Thus the customer gets respite from paying
a lump sum amount every year as the premium of the insurance policy. 7) Debtor Factoring, Invoice Discounting
through this scheme the customer is paid beforehand the payment he owes
to his client and when the invoices of the customer gets paid he repays
the financer. The amount of money paid by the customer as a fee to the
financer can be passed on to his clients who refuse to pay COD. 8) Business Loans for new and existing
business the bank arranges funds for working capital, to purchase more
stocks and to make renovation in the office. This scheme can be taken
up by the customers to start a new business or to expand the existing
business. 9) Margin Lending- Share Finance this
scheme allows the customers to use the shares listed on ASX as a security
for the loan they have taken. This helps to consolidate and enhance their
investments in the share market. The earnings from this scheme can be
used for any purpose as desired by the customer. 10) Investment Finance this scheme is
meant for the customers who want to increase their assets. The customers
can take loan for investment and the process of building up of the assets
will become faster. 11) Discounted Car Buying this is a
car loan scheme wherein the customers do not have to negotiate with the
dealers personally. The bank will finance the car and will also negotiate
with the dealers to arrange for a fleeting discount. Thus through this
scheme the customers can save money which, they might have incurred otherwise.
Intelligent Finance is a financial organization
where they concentrate on providing financial assistance to their customers.
Apart from arranging for a loan the bank also work towards managing the
funds of the customer and help to get him the optimal rates for any of
the purchases he makes.
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