Oct 15 – Early pantomime season
As the summer tans fade, the party conference season has provided the kind of entertainment usually seen in holiday camps around the UK coast or served up at all inclusive venues around the Mediterranean. The renewed vigour of UKIP, the return of old Labour and the spectre of ten years of Tory rule has brought a […]
Oct 15 – Pay Fair
As an industry we have positively subscribed to both FOS and FSCS as important safety nets for consumers when things go wrong. Whilst many in the investment space are critical of FOS, the mortgage fraternity are mostly supportive. Where real pain is being suffered is the rising tide of failed investment advice firms falling into FSCS […]
Sept 15 – MCD is coming
Any broker or firm that has not read the AMI or FCA publications on the Mortgage Credit Directive needs to start looking at these now. All firms need to make decisions about whether they will be offering second charge mortgages as part of their service and if they are interested in consumer buy-to-let business. All […]
Sept 15 – Rates and Debates
The mortgage market is going from strength to strength at the moment with remortgage volumes picking up well. This is off the back of both extremely attractive rates being offered by lenders and a general fear being expressed in the popular press that we are getting close to a rise in bank base rate. Whilst […]
Sept 15 – As the UK economy edges towards an interest rate rise, who matters more: savers or borrowers?
It is now perceived wisdom that the only way for interest rates is up. This is despite the original Bank of England policy that QE would be unwound before increasing base rates. That assurance has been quietly dropped. The issue for most banks and building societies is what action they should take. It has to […]
Sept 15 – Falling for the advice gap
The Financial Advice Market Review under the joint stewardship of Treasury and FCA has been given both a wide scope and a compressed timescale to report. When compared to the lengthy consideration and construction periods given to both the RDR and MMR, this is lightning quick. Because of this the project team, the expert advisory […]
Aug 15 – “Are free legals and valuations a good idea?”
There is no such thing as a free lunch is a phrase often quoted, and I consider that free legals and valuations offers from some lenders fall into that same pot. As firms of all types compete to win business, the price to the consumer is often used as the competitive lever. As an industry […]
Aug 15 – Property Hotspots
The National Crime Agency and our Prime Minister are suddenly concerned that the UK has become the natural home for a lot of money which might not be entirely honestly gained. The influx of this cash from overseas into London residential property, often through a series of shell companies, is a genuine cause for concern. […]
Aug 15 – FSCS Levies
Those on the receiving end of FCA fee bills will now know how much the FSCS levy for mistakes in the Pensions market is costing them. With huge increases in the total fee bill, it is the Life and Pensions bill that is causing stress on broker bank balances. Whilst the FCA fee rise was […]
July 15 – Advice and Distribution
The FCA post-MMR thematic sets out a number of areas of concern. All firms will need to read the full text and consider what changes they need to make to their sales processes, quality checking and also the training and procedures for their advisers. In summary, some adviser struggled to understand how much information on […]
July 15 – The technology revolution
With the arrival of the Apple watch, the digital revolution marches on. Even if Google glasses did not quite match expectations, this is a case of the product solution being too early in their evolution to be accepted. Technology is often an area where early adapters beat the true innovators. For those who have worked […]
July 15 – Proc fees: the only way is up!
The deep industry debate on procuration fees has 4 dimensions. What we must all remember however is that these are commercial arrangements between firms and must be left in that competitive space. It is important that individual lenders and intermediaries make their own judgements about the incentives and rewards needed to operate their risk based […]
