The decision was reached following research conducted by Origo with the eMortgage Forum, backed up by a survey of Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association (IMLA) members, to identify the priority areas for the remainder of 2007. The four priority areas identified, in order of importance, are: FMA, tracking, sourcing and commission.
This announcement follows the successful delivery of standards for pre offer Key Facts Illustrations (KFIs) in April and the work already started on Agreement-in-Principle (AIP) standards, which are expected to be signed off in June. Generally completed after a pre offer KFI and AIP, and completing the sales process, FMA collects data on the mortgage loan and enables lenders to make a binding lending decision based on detailed information on the property, the applicant’s income, identity and credit history.
Currently lenders have web based systems and/or paper based forms that are used by intermediaries to submit FMAs to lenders, using their back office software or via packagers. The FMA standard will be used to communicate the application for a mortgage loan from an intermediary to a lender or third party.
The business drivers behind FMA standards are to:
- Help the industry move towards complete end to end processing (straight through processing)
- Compliment the pre-offer KFI and AIP standards and broadly complete standards for the sales process
- Reduce the re-keying of data by parties in the industry
- Provide a single, consistent FMA message to be implemented with trading partners
Paul Pettitt, managing director of Origo, commented: “The involvement of the eMortgage Forum is absolutely vital to driving the initiative forward and ultimately ensuring its success. Collaboration with the group adds weight to decisions on development so the standards meet everyone’s needs. It was unanimously agreed that FMA was the next top priority and a logical next step in completing the sales process.”
