The census revealed 63 per cent said the FSA had not done enough to communicate TCF to firms; 86 per cent said they are aware of the TCF initiative; and 71 per cent of firms said they have already built TCF into their operations or are doing so. 78 per cent of respondents said no or few changes would be required to make their firm compliant.
The FSA has stressed that TCF should be implemented by senior level business leaders across all elements of a firm’s activities; the census reported that 68 per cent of members said their chief executive or senior management teams are driving TCF implementation.
Ben Stafford, head of mortgage policy at AMI, said: “TCF builds upon business processes any sound firm would already have in place and this was reflected in the results. The FSA will be expecting firms to produce evidence of their commitment to TCF on an ongoing basis and firms have no excuse not to comply.
“What is clear however is that brokers feel more could be done by the FSA to highlight the key points. For its part AMI is to issue further guidance to members shortly.”
Paul Hearnden, managing director of My Mortgage Direct, said: “I’d have to go along with the statistics. The concept is a straightforward one but I can’t help thinking the FSA has made it complicated.”
David Whitely, spokesperson at the FSA, said: “We have an enormous resource on our website. This is an ongoing process and we are committed to helping the industry understand the concepts of TCF.”
