Jul 18 – Set them free
Following my article last month on the significant work undertaken by the FCA which is set out in their Mortgages Market Study Interim Report it is important that I return to the same subject. This is because our sector now faces its biggest challenge since the early days of the Mortgage Market Review in 2009, […]
Jul 18 – No free lunch here
The FCA announced its fourth cohort of firms who have been approved to enjoy the benefits of their sandbox. The regulatory sandbox allows firms to test innovative products, services or business models in a live market environment, while ensuring that appropriate protections are in place. It is part of Innovate, an initiative kicked off in […]
Jul 18 – Housing still broken
The number of new housing starts were flat in 2017, according to finalised figures from the Office for National Statistics. The Bank of England has suggested expectations are that Q1 2018 figures will show a slowdown, in part due to adverse weather and the so-called Beast from the East. Indeed, early indicators from the NHBC […]
Jun 18 – Looking for a pencil sharpener
After a period of quiet reflection and immersing myself in the detail it is time to give a more impassioned view of the FCA’s Mortgages Market Study. The good news is that it was really positive to see that the mortgage market is working well in many respects. The interim report found high levels of […]
Jun 18 – Customer needs
One of the potential remedies proposed as part of the mortgages market study focuses on giving consumers “greater choices of tools” to help them choose a mortgage more effectively. As a generic objective, it sounds reasonable. But in reality, this translates to the FCA wanting to help “ensure that customers who don’t need advice don’t […]
Jun 18 – Time for a hard look
The FCA mortgages market study in its interim report calls for four substantive changes to improve the market for consumers. In calling for a tool to help find a broker and one to allow consumers to have an enhanced price comparison site which incorporates more lender criteria and affordability, these cut across a number of […]
Jun 18 – Data protection
The Financial Ombudsman Service has recently published a ruling in its annual review in which a mortgage broker was deemed to be in breach of data protection principles
May 18 – Results of AMI survey on free legals
In our April member survey we asked you about the use of free legals services offered by many lenders.
May 18 – The only way is up
The UK economy remains in relatively good shape with the Office for Budget Responsibility revising up its growth forecasts for the next three years in March’s Spring Statement. Consumer price inflation also fell back to 2.5 % in March, having been stuck at around 3 % for several months. While still above the Bank of […]
May 18 – Speeding up new-build
Over recent years we have seen housing move up the government’s agenda. It has embarked upon a series of consultations, projects and initiatives to try to drive the housing market to new levels. One major area of focus is how more homes can be built quickly, which has been underpinned by the government’s ambitious targets […]
