Mar 20 – Building operational resilience: does it matter?
BY AMI
Operational resilience has become an area of priority for the FCA and was included in their 2019/20 Business Plan. They issued a Consultation Paper on 5 December 2019 and within the mortgage intermediation sector it will apply to SM&CR enhanced [...]
2 weeks ago / No Comments
18
MAR
Mar 20 – A little top heavy
BY AMI
As the FCA has grown its staff to almost 4,000 people it has also subtly changed shape. In addition to the Chair and Chief Executive it has evolved a number of divisions within its structure:- Strategy & Competition; Supervision – [...]
2 weeks ago / No Comments
18
MAR
No
Comments
Feb 20 – The dangerous devil in the detail
BY AMI
The long-awaited Policy Statement on Mortgage Advice and Selling Standards has now been published by the FCA. Whilst the policy changes came into effect from 31 January there are transitional provisions that run to 30 July 2020 which allows firms [...]
1 month ago / No Comments
24
FEB
No
Comments
Feb 20 – The politics of investing
BY AMI
Having spent 2016 and 2017 working on the last fundamental review of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme it is fascinating to see investment advisers lobbying their MPs in droves as to its unfairness. I am not sure where they were [...]
1 month ago / No Comments
24
FEB
No
Comments
Jan 20 – Residential Renaissance
BY AMI
As we leave behind the election, the new government has a range of challenges facing it. One amongst many is the housing dilemma, in that all parties committed in their manifestos to get Britain building even more. The delivery of [...]
3 months ago / No Comments
15
JAN
No
Comments
Jan 20 – Changes at the FOS
BY AMI
The New Year will bring a consultation on changes to the funding of the Ombudsman service. It appears that the PPI debacle has masked a savage increase in overheads at the service where the PPI case fees have subsidised a [...]
3 months ago / No Comments
15
JAN
No
Comments
Jan 20 – The shifting view on income protection
BY AMI
The phrase ‘mortgage protection products are sold; they are not bought’ surfaces time and time again. But this is true in a post-MMR (Mortgage Market Review) world where the core mortgage advice and application process takes a significant amount of [...]
3 months ago / No Comments
3
JAN
No
Comments
Dec 19 – The price of “free”dom
BY AMI
In the past I have been critical of the marketing by lenders of “free valuations” and “free legals”. News is reaching me again of significant delays in purchase and re-mortgage cases as the service provided through some conveyancers are at [...]
4 months ago / No Comments
12
DEC
No
Comments
Dec 19 – Cultural Awareness
BY AMI
As a responsible trade body, AMI has always wanted an effective and efficient regulator. In the FCA we have in the past enjoyed an open and participative approach built on mutual trust. The MMR and FSCS funding consultation being two [...]
4 months ago / No Comments
12
DEC
No
Comments
Nov 19 – The gift of SM&CR
BY AMI
With the FCA’s Senior Manager & Certification Regime (SM&CR) due to be extended across financial services businesses from 9 December 2019, I would have expected more noise from small to medium sized advice firms complaining about the complexity. It makes [...]
5 months ago / No Comments
19
NOV
No
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No
Comments