In his speech, Jon Pain said: "It is particularly important that you focus on the fair treatment of your customers when they go into arrears. We have recently sent a Dear CEO letter to the chief executives of all lenders to remind them of their responsibilities. We want each lender to look at their internal arrears policy to ensure it aligns with the mortgage rules and treating customers fairly. Then to review actual current practice to ensure corners are not being cut, and to only take repossession action where all other reasonable attempts to resolve the position have failed."
Jon Pain said the FSA welcomed future growth in mortgage lending but only where this properly reflected the price of risk:
"There are difficult questions facing us about the future of the mortgage market. It is unlikely to be anything like the recent past. Now is the right time for us to address the big issues, and I believe we have a market with the CML that is willing to take an open mind and collaborate with us, learning from the past, and making sure that we get a more sustainable market in the future - where lenders have adequate liquidity, funding and capital; there are strong systems; and customers enjoy the benefits of a vibrant market but are not exposed to unnecessary risk."
