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6 | Questions from Hell
Questions
from hell
This month’s Questions from Hell tackles all
your mortgage and GI regulatory queries
courtesy of Bill Warren
A
s we rapidly move towards the The answer is that we should probably not get insurers perhaps. The FSA will want this
end of 2009, many industry too excited yet. review to set the regulatory standard for the
professionals may start to Political uncertainties abound with a next three to five years and ensure the FSA is
reflect on how quickly the year General Election only a few months away blameless for any problems that surface in that
has disappeared given the keeping the seas choppy for a while, hopefully time as the likely political colour change will
tremendous challenges faced without the storms and high winds of the last impact their ability to regulate for some time.
at the beginning of the year two years. International confidence has not
and in between. Most challenges have been returned to the UK yet, although events such Question: With the recent publication by the
either demolished or at least fought strongly as Bank of China’s entry to the UK mortgage FSA of the Sale and Rent Back ‘Full Regime’
either on an individual firm basis or industry market via a very select number of distribution proposals via Consultation Paper 09/22, do
wide. firms is an encouraging sign on the barometer. you see similarities to the mortgage regime in
As the predictably weak signs of However, there remains a difficult and 2003/4 final rules and what in your opinion
improvement surface, revered mortgage potentially erratic year ahead. are the lessons to be gained from this
commentators are starting to talk mortgage But there are positives where twelve months consultation that could also appear in the
competition between lenders - a massive step ago it was difficult to find any, so the super mortgage review?
forward from the understandably apprehensive tanker is moving forward again slowly, despite
end we had to 2008. Dual pricing still exists the doom and gloom merchants that were Answer: There are similarities but 'Mortgage
but we are better able to work with it or formerly members of the MPC. Of course they Day’ was five years ago and the whole world of
against it as tools of one sort or another have could still be proved right, but most advisers of regulation has moved forward a massive
surfaced to provide assistance. all types are now starting to believe there is a amount in that time. The FSA is better
While the levels of clients with mortgage more positive if demanding future ahead. informed about property-related activities
arrears and other related problems has There is a long way to go but the signs are than five years ago and therefore much more
spawned a debt management capability, this encouraging; more products being available to aware of the potential issues; you only have to
has in turn forced the knowledge levels of the intermediary sector is a sure sign that the look at the volume of fraudulent mortgage
individual advisers to step up at least two or sector is far from dead as some would like us activities to see how much learning is and has
three gears, alongside the growth in debt to believe. been available.
management firms. There are some massive challenges coming The FSA has tackled head on some difficult
So should we start to get excited that the up fast though, the RDR, the Mortgage Market issues within the Sale and Rent Back market
worst is over and can we look forward in 2010 Review which is due to hit the spotlight with within their final consultation not least capital
to easier times with remortgage funding and changes that will change many business adequacy, PII and Affordability and
sub-prime funding becoming more plentiful? models and potentially those of some PII Appropriateness. The potential lesson for
November 2009 Mortgage Introducer www.mortgageintroducer.com
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