Concerns have arisen that firms who find themselves outside of the regulatory umbrella post-‘Mortgage Day’ but who have cases that have yet to complete will seek to push them through industry contacts who are regulated.
Chris Cummings, director of AMI, explained that a firm taking on such a case from an unregulated firm would have to begin the entire mortgage advice process again. “Don’t get into doing favours for friends, make sure that there is a proper agreement in place,” said Cummings. “Ultimately you are taking the full regulatory risk and will have to do all the work again from scratch.”
“You will have to ask yourself just how much it is worth, when it comes to giving any share of the proc fee. There is even a chance that your factfind may end up recommending an entirely different product,” he added.
Gordon Steyn, mortgage operations director for Thinc Mortgage Solutions, commented: “If you are going to help a friend out who is in this situation then make sure you are covered by an introducer arrangement or you could find yourself out of business.”
He added: “The FSA is going to look to flex its muscle post-‘Mortgage Day’ and it is vital that you don’t give them a reason to focus on your firm.”
