The ‘MCOB Web Review’ service is designed to help brokers identify potential problem areas and regulation breaches within their existing website.
Stuart Wilson, founding director of Lemon Squeezy, explained: “In a recent study we made of websites, we found that at least 1 in 3 were non-compliant. The main problems we came across time and again are to do with ‘due prominence’ and missing risk warnings, particularly on sites and pages dedicated to the sub prime market.”
Many existing broker websites were designed and published before M-Day but have not been updated since. In other cases, brokers have attempted to comply with the new regulations but failed to make adequate or appropriate changes to their site content. This is something that all brokers with websites should be wary of, as Wilson explains:
“The FSA tend to adopt a thematic approach to their review and enforcement of the regulations. At last year’s Mortgage Business Expo in London, the Financial Promotions team from the FSA highlighted internet advertising as a key ‘theme’ for 2006 - they are very concerned at the level of non-compliant financial promotions appearing on the internet. All firms that have a website presence should be checking and double-checking their content to satisfy themselves that it is compliant.”
“Whilst we cannot formally approve financial promotions, our web review service is designed to give brokers added peace of mind by highlighting areas of potential non-compliance and offering suggestions for remedial action that they can then discuss with their usual compliance officer.”
