The suggestion was made after a would-be broker contacted Mortgage Introducer to enquire how someone who lived in England could go about taking the Scottish CeMAP qualification, because ‘he had heard from people in the industry it was easier’.
Mark Roberts, head of the faculty of financial regulation at ifs, explained there was in actual fact only a 10 per cent difference in the two papers, relating to case law and process.
“The difference becomes apparent when candidates have to do the case studies,” he said. “But there is really no difference in the level of knowledge required, both are accredited by the same people.”
Ben Stafford, policy officer at AMI, commented: “You actually have all the information pertaining to the Scottish exams on the English papers, it is signified by a Scottish flag. The levels are the same. This sounds like some old industry fish wives tale.”
Roberts said that some lenders whose staff dealt with clients across both sides of the border had made sales staff sit both papers. “It is considered good form for them to do it,” he said.
Tony Corrigan, managing director of Manchester-based Classic Network Solutions, said: “We have to demonstrate the competence of our advisers to the FSA.
“So if we were employing a broker with Scottish CeMAP we would give them an in-house exam to ensure they understood the differences between mortgage advice in the two countries.”
