Brokers to be individually registered by March 2011
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The FSA has confirmed its plans to make all mortgage advisers and bank staff who arrange mortgages personally accountable to the regulator under its approved persons regime.
The regulator is aiming to bring in the changes by the end of March 2011.
Mortgage brokers and those arranging loans will be required to demonstrate they are “fit and proper”, which the FSA says will help to clamp down on mortgage fraud and enable the FSA to monitor individuals in the mortgage market.
The regime will also cover those arranging home reversion and sale and rentback contracts as well as staff working for lenders who arrange mortgages.
However, it will not apply to lending staff who deal with the borrower after the point of sale, such as arrears handling staff.
Nor will it apply to introducers who refer customers to registered mortgage advisers.
Mortgage advisers or sales staff who continue to arrange loans without the necessary registration will face penalties.
Lenders have lobbied hard to be excluded from the regime, with the Council of Mortgage Lenders claiming it will add significantly to the implementation costs.
But the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries claimed there should be a level playing field for lender and broker staff to prevent rogue individuals from going under the radar by moving from institution to institution unchecked.
The FSA recently snubbed lenders’ calls to be excluded, confirming that bank staff would be caught by the new rules.
CML director general Michael Coogan says lenders feel “harshly treated” by the new rules, but that “the referee’s decision is final”.
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Readers' comments (2)
Martyn Sinclair | 25 Jun 2010 10:09 am
why on earth is the FSA waiting unto 2011 make bank straff acountable. July 1st 2010 seems to be a good enough start date.The FSA seem to have th epower to do what they want, I wonder what the agenda is to wait until 2011??
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Julian Stevens | 25 Jun 2010 12:02 pm
Come, come, Martin ~ you should know by now that the FSA has its own agenda, does what it likes, is accountable to no one, and anyone or anybody who dares to stand in its way can either jump off a cliff or be trampled underfoot like some tiresome and inconsequential insect.
Other people may be forced to become "personally accountable" but anyone at the FSA who screws up (well, anyone in a senior position) gets a massive golden parachute (with our money, of course).
These are the things we're all fighting to get changed.
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