The call followed recent concerns voiced by the Mortgage Code Compliance Board (MCCB) and a warning from the head of mortgages at HBOS-subsidiary BM Solutions Michael Bolton, that some lenders had left it too late to install the necessary technology to provide brokers with KFIs from ‘Mortgage Day.’
Chris Cummings, director of AMI, said: “We are calling on lenders to take the lead on announcing when they have their KFIs ready. It seems sensible that intermediaries should be able to test-drive the new systems for at least a few weeks before they have to use them.”
He added: “We will sit down with lenders to discuss how we can best establish a system of good practice when brokers are generating KFIs.”
Mehrdad Yousefi, head of intermediary mortgages at Alliance & Leicester, said some lenders were experiencing difficulties because they had not left themselves sufficient time to test the new systems. “We began working on this over a year ago and are confident we will be ready in time, but the amount of work involved is huge,” he said.
Yousefi added: “At the end of the day AMI are right, lenders have to get things ready in time for brokers to familiarise themselves with the new technology.”
Meanwhile the FSA has denied speculation that three lenders have approached the regulator to inform it they will not be able to produce KFIs in time for 31 October. The speculation followed the revelation that a number of lenders had already approached the MCCB to inform it they would not be ready in time.
