About Coleva

"We make no apology for enthusing about our own experiences. They're the only ones we've had..."

Coleva draws on significant experience in the UK banking and lending sector dating back to 1984. Rob Collins, Coleva’s founder, spent four years at Trustee Savings Bank (now absorbed within Lloyds TSB), learning the ropes on the counter of his local branch, dealing with real customers and their day-to-day banking needs, including underwriting of unsecured loans and residential mortgages. Having been fast-tracked through TSB’s development programme, including periods in the IT division, head office lending functions and bad debt control, Rob joined the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce’s fledgling UK mortgage business in 1990, holding various positions in securities and arrears management, including sensitive case handling that required representing the company at possession hearings.

After the turmoil of the early 1990s, Abbey National (now part of the Banco Santander Group) acquired this business in 1994, and Rob took a senior role within the project team tasked with delivering the first ever securitisation of prime UK residential mortgages by a mainstream ‘high street’ lender. After a secondment to Abbey’s mortgage product team, he commenced as manager of the Securitisation and Treasury Advisory Group at Abbey Financial Markets, which initiated and managed Abbey’s multi-billion £ residential mortgage-backed securitisation master trust programme (Holmes) and multi-billion € structured covered bond programme.

Rob joined Advantage, Morgan Stanley's new UK mortgage lending business, as CFO in 2006, subsequently transferring to Morgan Stanley's European Residential team in London with responsibility for executing securitisation and portfolio sales transactions across Morgan Stanley's European residential businesses. On electing to leave Morgan Stanley in July 2008, Rob formed Coleva Solutions Limited. As well as Rob’s own experience gained over 24+ years in the banking, lending and securitisation industry, Coleva has access to a large network of individuals with considerable experience of every element of the structured finance ‘chain’, experience that could be directly relevant to what your business is trying to do more effectively.