June 15 – The proposal for seconds
One of the biggest decisions all mortgage firms will have to make to implement the provisions of the Mortgage Credit Directive is whether to include second charge loans in their scope of service. For many years, the vast majority of firms have been used to telling consumers that they cannot cover lender direct deals, further […]
The Mortgage Credit Directive: changes for all brokers
The FCA will be implementing new rules for brokers and lenders in both first and second charge markets from 21 March 2016, as a result of the Mortgage Credit Directive.
MAY 2015 – The real lending into retirement conundrum
As working patterns change and we have a more active elderly population with more people will wanting to phase in their retirement, the industry will come under increasing pressure to provide advice on more flexible mortgage products. Indeed we will need to create these products. Perceived industry wisdom has been driven the by FSA in […]
MAY 2015 – When Advice goes wrong
On top of huge increases in FCA fees, mortgage firms are being asked to pay for the despicable advice given by some investment advisers to place Self Invested Personal Pension funds into poorly performing unregulated investments. These pension advisers have taken the huge commissions and run for the hills leaving mortgage brokers who did the […]
MAY 2015 – What is in a title?
Whether we label ourselves as mortgage brokers, advisers, sellers, consultants or managers, it probably does not matter to the average consumer who is just looking for an expert to point them in the right direction. What is important is that whoever the customer sits in front of, they have an abundant quantity of current market […]
MAY 15 – New Plans for a New Era
By the time this is published we should have a new government with a mandate to govern for 5 years, unless voted down. This new team inherit a very different set of issues than their predecessors. It is easy to forget that 5 years ago we were still looking over the edge of the financial […]
APR 2015 – Bringing the Directive to life
As MMR reaches its first anniversary, we are months away from what could be a potentially chaotic period caused by having to implement the European Mortgage Directive. The final date for implementation of most of the directive provisions is 21 March 2016, but the rules will allow firms to implement early, with the option, if […]
FCA fee rates 2015/16
In response to the FCA’s consultation on its 2015/16 fee rates, AMI has issued a joint letter with the Association of Professional Financial Advisers urging for the FCA’s disproportionate fee increase to be reviewed. The letter has been sent to the Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat parties, HM Treasury and some members of the Treasury […]
APR 2015 – How will the withdrawal of certain transitionals impact consumers?
Will the withdrawal of the transitional rules for remortgage borrowers switching lenders make any real difference to consumers or the level of business which this allowance facilitated, given the reluctance of lenders to use the rules? It has been a source of extreme frustration that very few lenders have chosen to apply the transitional provisions […]
APR 2015 – Should lenders implement MCD early?
With another set of new rules just published (FCA’s implementation of the MCD), should lenders implement early or leave implementation until next March? Under MMR we saw some lenders implement quietly and early and others leave changes until the last minute. Many lenders saw keeping things under wraps as a competitive advantage. The skill of […]
