The guidance comes ahead of the impending Consumer Duty changes
PMS Mortgage Club, in collaboration with Bankhall, has introduced a suite of support to help mortgage and protection firms adapt to the impending changes of Consumer Duty.
The introduction of this support follows directly authorised mortgage firms expressing concerns over their ability to adapt to the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) requirements for demonstrating fair value, according to the mortgage club.
It will also help firms prepare for the FCA’s examples of good and bad practice, which are expected to be published over the coming weeks.
The support covers guidance on the steps firms should take to help demonstrate fair value, which is broken down into the specific requirements across mortgages, protection, and general insurance.
It will also include a Consumer Duty checklist to help firms measure and demonstrate how they are embedding the new requirements.
As well as this, the guidance contains examples of best practice across the industry, allowing firms to have oversight on what individual product providers and mortgage lenders are doing.
“Consumer Duty is a sea change in terms of the way firms are regulated and so it is unsurprising many feel they need additional support,” said Alex Beavis, group director of mortgages and protection at PMS Mortgage Club.
In partnership with Bankhall, Beavis said the two businesses have looked to do the heavy-lifting and collate all the information firms need to demonstrate fair value and governance in one place, as well as help them set out a process for continually stress testing and reviewing their work.
“Directly authorised firms will be undergoing a significant transition in the coming months, and we will be continually revisiting our comprehensive library of support materials to ensure they have everything they need,” he added.
Linda Preston-Todd, client relationship director at Bankhall, added that while advisory firms operating in protection and general insurance have been accustomed to fair value frameworks since their introduction in 2021, this is a brand-new area for many mortgage advisers.
“Therefore, it is crucial firms take the time to carefully validate their work and have a means of sense checking this against industry best practice,” she said.
Preston-Todd said encompassing free guidance, backed-up with access to Bankhall’s regulatory experts, the latest package of support aims to provide advisers with all the insight and intelligence they need to ensure their work stands up to regulatory scrutiny.
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