Apr 19 – Pleading for fairness

Following consultation, the FCA has decided to increase the ombudsman service’s award limit to £350,000 for complaints about acts or omissions by firms which take place on or after 1 April 2019.  AMI has been discussing with the FCA the difficulties some firms might face in obtaining PII cover in respect of this increase in […]

Apr 19 – A study in time

The FCA final report of the Mortgages Market Study set out its plans to resolve the issues it identified.  It has accepted, for now, the industry view that intervening to promote solutions to assist consumers to more easily find the right mortgage might slow innovation.  However, it will continue to monitor progress to ensure that […]

Apr 19 – Is housing working?

Figures from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government show housing starts in England remained reasonably robust in 2018, however, it’s unlikely that this indicates an entrenched trend towards increased building rates. The imminent removal of Help to Buy will weigh on developer appetite from later this year and data from the House Builders […]

Mar 19 – Reporting on GABRIEL

Firms will have recently submitted their RMAR returns on GABRIEL but may not have been aware of changes to income reporting.

Mar 19 – Keeping AMI busy

The Government and the Treasury Select Committee have been increasing pressure on the FCA to do more to help borrowers trapped on SVR or what some might consider to be penal rates of interest often as a result of their loan being sold to an asset manager.  This has been a campaigning point for AMI […]

Mar 19 – Changes to FOS

This month the FCA announced it is ploughing ahead with increasing the award limit for the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) from 1 April.  Seemingly the majority of those who responded to its proposals strongly disagreed, including AMI, yet the FCA has said “this has not changed our view” and plans to implement all of its […]

Feb 19 – Realtek

I have been listening intently to where we, as an industry, are on the technology journey with a wide range of firms investing in the future of how intermediaries interact with consumers and lenders.  Firstly, we have the traditional broking firms who are developing their own solutions or bolting in third party systems to enhance […]

Feb 19 – Fair recruitment

I’ve heard a firm say that equality and diversity isn’t an issue because they ‘hire the best people for the job’.  This narrow view doesn’t recognise that if a firm does not put equality and diversity at the heart of their recruitment process, they might not be reaching a wide range of talent in the […]

Jan 19 – Culture

Culture in financial services has become a priority for both the PRA and FCA as well as government and select committees.  It is recognised that culture is a key root cause of major conduct failings that have occurred within the industry in recent history.  There is an expectation on firms to focus on fostering good […]