The research, carried out between July and August this year among intermediaries that provide IMLA members with the majority of their mortgage business followed findings earlier in the year which showed many lenders saw little value for the substantial costs to consumers from mortgage regulation.
72 per cent of intermediaries felt mortgage regulation had brought no benefit to their customers; 60 per cent of brokers had seen their costs increase by more than 10 per cent due to regulation; and over 21 per cent claimed costs had increased by more than 20 per cent.
The research also highlighted the attitude of intermediaries to packaging, an area where some confusion still exists. The majority, 67 per cent, believed all packagers should be regulated.
Tim Dawson, chairman of IMLA, said: “It is becoming clear that despite the enormous time and costs incurred by lenders, intermediaries and customers, regulation has not achieved its main objectives.
“The research also found the majority of intermediaries would like to see regulation simplified with less paperwork involved. MCOB currently runs to 483 pages so we see this as being quite a challenge.”
“We believe the FSA should take the opportunity in 2006 to work closely with the industry’s professional bodies to review how the current regulatory framework can be simplified to deliver real benefits to the consumer in a cost-effective way,” he added.
Rob Clifford, managing director of Mortgageforce, said: “It’s hard to see any immediate consumer benefits and I’m not sure how they will be enhanced when consumer detriment in the industry is extremely rare.”
