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.