The lender claims it approached the regulator to ensure its mortgages were being properly sold and that following consultation with the regulator it changed its procedures.
The practice that igroup has changed involved brokers requesting that clients sign mortgage deed documents at the same time as their application forms. The FSA said it believed that asking clients to do this put them under undue pressure.
Bob Sturges, head of PR at igroup, explained that the procedure was introduced because many of the lender’s clients were visited by brokers at home and getting the mortgage deeds and the application signed at the same time negated the necessity of a second visit.
He said: “Following proactive dialogue with the FSA, I can confirm that igroup has instructed its supporting intermediaries to change the process whereby customers sign mortgage deed documents as part of their mortgage application process.
“While we consider the original process – which allowed the deed to be signed at the same time as the application form – to be fair to consumers, the FSA has issued additional guidance since the initial introduction of MCOB regulations.
“We have responded quickly and have changed our process in light of this. We believe such changes are not untypical of a new regulatory regime where rules have to ‘bed in’ and be reviewed by the regulator when applied in practice.”
It is understood that at least one other lender will have to change its practices to meet the regulator’s requirements.
