Independent label defines choice
Share
The label of “whole of market” mortgage advice could be replaced with “independent” mortgage advice.
The regulator says mortgage advisers should have two labels - independent and restricted.
In an interview with Money Marketing, FSA head of mortgage policy Ed Harley says: “There are a plethora of different labels as to what service the mortgage professional is providing.
“What we are proposing is that we have two labels. We need to define some sort of meaningful concept of independent and a meaningful concept of restricted.
“The problem with whole of market in plain English terms is that no one actually checks the whole of the market and we need to think of a label that says what it means. We think that independent is the way to go.”
Harley also revealed that the regulator is considering which areas of buy-to-let to concentrate on.
He says: “There are two sides to buy-to-let. One of the challenges we will face is drawing the distinction between personal investment and commercial business. We will have to analyse the boundary very carefully and we want to talk to the industry about that.”
Harley also revealed that, while mortgages with no proof of income should be banned, the FSA is not opposed to “faster-track” mortgages allowing applications to be processed with less onerous documentation requirements.
He says: “We would be flexible with the documentation, we just want income verification, as it is something that got lost in the later years.”
If you enjoyed this article, sign up here to receive daily email updates from Money Marketing and Follow @_moneymarketing
