HSBC will leave the Council of Mortgage Lenders at the end of the year ahead of a proposed merger of lender trade bodies.
HSBC will leave the Council of Mortgage Lenders at the end of the year ahead of a proposed merger of lender trade bodies.
In March the CML will vote on a potential merger with the British Bankers Association, the Asset Based Finance Association, Payments UK and the UK Cards Association.
HSBC, which is the CML’s biggest bank by assets, is the first bank to pull out since the merger plans were announced in November.
A HSBC spokesperson said: “Given the anticipated creation of a new financial services trade association, we have given one year's notice to the Council of Mortgage Lenders and our membership will end on 31 December 2016.
“HSBC supports the creation of a new trade association which will better serve all providers in the financial services sector and most importantly, our customers.
“We have and continue to value our work with the CML and believe a strong mortgage voice is critical within any new association.”
HSBC is currently consulting on whether the bank will move its headquarters away from the UK.
A CML spokesperson said: “The trade bodies’ memberships are currently making decisions on this (our members will vote on the proposal in March), so the trade body landscape could look very different next year.
“In terms of individual members’ future intentions regarding trade bodies, that would be a matter for individual firms to discuss, rather than us.”
