Jan 18 – Looking ahead
As we have entered the New Year, the regulatory and legislative changes that we had seen from a distance are now just around the corner. The most rushed changes come from the Insurance Distribution Directive which applies to firms carrying out life insurance and non-investment insurance business. The FCA only recently issued its second policy […]
Jan 18 – Opportunity
The New Year brings a new set of targets for our lender partners. Having seen another year of growth in volume in 2017, early discussions indicate that no-one is looking to take a step backwards in 2018. Indeed with many lenders indicating ambitious growth targets, it looks like we will have a year of opportunity […]
Dec 17 – Neither a Marathon nor a Sprint
The entire housing agenda is now at the heart of government policy with Theresa May picking up the baton on getting Britain Building as the domestic diversion to the Brexit negotiations. She has now taken over after David Cameron ran a decent first bend, with May now stretching her legs down the back straight being […]
Dec 17 – End of year worry beads
It looks like the arrival of more lenders paying for product transfers combined with rising interest rates has energised the market. It is now an easier discussion in a low interest rate world for the broker where “charging a fee” to leave the customer “where they were” was challenging. Although there is often less money […]
Dec 17 – Debt activity
Back in March the FCA communicated six new permission categories relating to debt activity. Regulatory work has since moved forward with the release of the first draft of how the Senior Managers & Certification Regime (SMCR) will be applied to the rest of the industry, and a more polished version of how the Financial Services […]
Nov 17 – Consumer Credit Authorisation – Debt Management Limitation guidance
This important permissions issue should be read by all firms.
Nov 17 – The March of the “BOT”
The rapid march of technology is predicted to make redundant the traditional mortgage broker. If all is to be believed then we will soon see the application of Artificial Intelligence, robo-advice models, enhanced sourcing, online criteria systems, propensity modelling and direct to lender application and approval processes which will bring the demise of traditional approaches. […]
Nov 17 – Property Builder
The latest Tory party conference again put housing back near the top of the political agenda. Initiatives to help buyers, promote building and encourage activity have been part of the landscape for some time but it seems that this time there is a bigger and wider plan. The BBC has also recently picked up on how […]
Nov 17 – The Compensation Contract
It is not often that I am heard to commit a “well done” to the FCA. However now is such a time based on their decision to re-consult on a new approach to funding the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Rather than taking the soft option of picking one of the sub-optimal alternatives they had originally […]
Nov 17 – Data
With the deadline for the General Data Protection Regulation now just six months away, we still have the ICO finalising guidance whilst the Data Protection Bill is still making its way through Parliament. Not to mention the new Privacy Regulation which is supposed to be implemented at the same time, yet it’s still being agreed […]
Oct 17 – Later Life – in need of a chat
As the population benefits from living longer, the financial services sector needs to think about how it will adapt to meet their needs. As a population group that is going to need help and advice this should be the natural domain of the intermediary. Whilst we have seen some firms and brokers specialise in the Equity […]
Oct 17 – Planning ahead
As we move to the point in the year where business written has more impact on the numbers for 2018, firms and brokers should be beginning their planning for a changing world. The government commitment to Brexit at any price, even a no deal exit, is now beginning to weigh down on consumer and business confidence. […]
