Jan 20 – Residential Rennaissance
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 [...]
1 week ago / No Comments
15
JAN
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 [...]
1 week 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 weeks 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 [...]
1 month 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 [...]
1 month 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 [...]
2 months ago / No Comments
19
NOV
No
Comments
Nov 19 – Remember, Remember the 9th of December
BY AMI
This is the magic date when we migrate from the Financial Conduct Authority’s Approved Persons regime to the new Senior Managers regime. Further changes will occur during 2020 when firms will have to complete activity to comply with the new [...]
2 months ago / No Comments
19
NOV
No
Comments
Nov 19 – Goldilocks forgets the porridge
BY AMI
After a process as long as Brexit, the FCA has finally coughed up its new affordability rules to deal with the trapped borrower issue. The call for inputs on its Mortgages Market Study was in October 2015, followed by the [...]
2 months ago / No Comments
19
NOV
No
Comments
Oct 19 – The bigger ticking bombs
BY AMI
The housing market appears stable, with forecasts suggesting that transactions will reach 1.2 million in 2019, in line with the long-term average. However, according to analysis by Zoopla and Hometrack, activity in the market is not evenly spread geographically. Sales [...]
3 months ago / No Comments
22
OCT
No
Comments
Oct 19 – Picking the right remedies
BY AMI
The FCA is due to deliver final remedies from its Mortgages Market Study in Q4, unanticipated events notwithstanding. AMI has already been vocal about a wholesale move to allow execution-only sales to re-enter the mainstream market. It is a mistake, [...]
3 months ago / No Comments
22
OCT
No
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No
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