Having spent 38 years in financial services, many of which have been at building societies, his extracurricular activities include being fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and a member of the Institute of Credit Management, roles he has held since 1990. And if that was not enough, by 1998 he had also become an industry compliance and expert witness, practising member of the Academy of Experts, an expert witness for The Law Society and a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.
In his day job the biggest challenge currently facing Mr Bridge and his team is to promote the importance of income protection. He said: “One of our main problems is that while IP is an important cover, the people who buy financial products remain unconvinced.
“It is a concern to everyone that this is not considered an important cover, despite the fact that people still borrow large amounts of money and seek out mortgages to buy homes. It is also incredible how many people buy pet insurance but not IP. This is recognised by the industry and we all agree that the general population needs more education on its benefits.”
Whereas some IP figures blamed a lack of take-up on the negative image of insurance providers, Mr Bridge said the real issue was that most were oblivious that this type of insurance cover exists. However despite providers such as Cirencester Friendly publishing payout claims data for the past few years, Mr Bridge said that those who refused to circulate statistics should also be held accountable.
He added: “We are anxious to distribute our claim statistics, which have constantly been in the 94 per cent and 95 per cent mark, but there are some companies that are reluctant to publish figures. I cannot speak for them but perhaps that reluctance may add some fuel to the opinion that providers are reluctant to pay claims.”
Mr Bridge does, nonetheless, predict a positive conclusion to the goal of wider awareness and is encouraged by a few industry signs that point towards a brighter future. According to him, IP’s immunity from commission bans has seen a gradual increase in business from financial advisers and the mortgage market review will see even more advice directed towards the merits of protection.
Mr Bridge also envisions a great future for building societies, which will come as no surprise to those familiar with his career story and the profound respect he holds for mutuals. According to him, building societies recovered well from the financial crisis and have introduced a number of innovative products to complement the mortgage market.
He added: “Because of their flexibility and mutuality they survived the storm better than clearing banks. Mortgage lending dropped and many of them got out of the storm by specialising in buy-to-let properties. Now we see building societies being more innovative than ever with fixed-rate and specialist mortgage products.”
Mr Bridge said MMR would benefit building societies and ensure they remain the cornerstone of local and domestic economies. He added: “MMR will alter the rules, which will bring fundamental changes to the operations of building societies.
“Building societies welcome the changes made so far. I think building societies were keen before to do these types of things and the rules will fit in better with the prudent approach that most building societies operate.”
As his side projects would suggest, Mr Bridge is very active on industry matters and vocal on the FCA and regulatory reforms. Together with MMR, he is pleased to see the FCA imposing other rules which he said go far to tackle the negative reputation of financial services in the UK.
Tough rules, he claimed, have helped resurrect a profession damaged by mis-selling scandals but work still must be done by the FCA to ensure the industry commands the respect it deserves. He said: “The poor reputation has been brought about by dubious products such as payment protection insurance but I do think the reputation is greatly lowered by claims companies which encourage people to make complaints. I would welcome tougher regulation on claims companies.”
Incidentally, last year Mr Bridge criticised RDR for forcing out a large number of financial advisers, though has now done a U-turn following fresh data that indicated the contrary. He said: “It would appear, according to FCA data, that there has been an increase in advisers and that would suggest that RDR is working quite well. If income was falling the results would have been the opposite.”
Another fear he voiced last year, however, which has yet to be resolved, concerned the lack of young financial advisers entering the profession. Mr Bridge would like to see more effort made to recruit younger candidates and added that with the profession ageing it was of fundamental importance that the industry protected its future.
Although he labelled it an issue that affects the entire profession, he insisted that larger firms and networks were most responsible for promoting this and introducing some “much-needed” apprenticeship schemes.
After nearly four decades in financial services, Mr Bridge is still just as enthusiastic as he was on his first day with Leeds Permanent Building Society in 1975. Whereas some would shy away from putting in the same number of hours, this multi-tasking marketing man is determined to wield his influence to safeguard what he believes will be a “rosy future”.
Career Ladder
October 2011 – present Cirencester Friendly, director of sales and marketing
September 2005 – October 2011 Cirencester Friendly, member of the board of management and senior independent director
2007 – October 2010 Bridge Home Finance Limited
2004 – March 2007 Expert Mortgage Advice Limited, director. Bridge and Company, partner
1992 – June 2004 Bridge and Company
1977 – 1991 Cheltenham & Gloucester Building Society, various roles including branch manager in Ludlow and Birmingham (1977-1982), regional manager (1982-1986) general manager (1986-1991)
1975 – 1977 Leeds Permanent Building Society
Other roles
Since 1990: fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing
Since 1990: member of the Institute of Credit Management
Since 1992: compliance and expert witness to the financial services industry
Since 1994: practising Member of the Academy of Experts
Since 1994: The Law Society-checked expert witness
Since 1998: member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
