Mehrdad Yousefi, head of intermediary mortgages at Alliance & Leicester: “Half a year on from regulation and KFIs are still not right. The intermediary market needs total and absolute clarity on KFIs issued by lenders. I hope that KFI documents will become standardised in the next six months. The longer sales process is squeezing intermediaries’ profits and revenue. Intermediaries should look towards diversifying into other markets to enhance their productivity.”
Paul Hearnden, managing director at My Mortgage Direct: “The biggest running issue is the amount of documentation being sent out to clients and the way the information has been set out on each page by the regulator. On the plus side it has tightened up the industry and pushed out the less scrupulous broker element.”
Dev Malle, associate director at Pink Home Loans: “The industry is still somewhat unclear over interpretation of FSA principles. Ambiguity still surrounds us as key issues continue to come into the fray, especially Treating Customers Fairly (TCF). Systems and processes are being worked on but there are firms out there who are struggling to get themselves sorted.”
Paul Darwin, head of intermediary sales at Skipton Building Society: “Regulation? What regulation? What was all the fuss about? Sure we had our interpretation and implementation skills tested to the limit over the KFIs but since ‘Mortgage Day’ it’s been plain sailing. In fact, our intermediary business went up by 25 per cent in the last two months of 2004 and is up 40 per cent on this time last year. Nice one FSA.”
Andy Frankish, managing director at Mortgage Talk: “Our whole sales process has been restructured. It’s now at least a two-stage procedure, which incorporates the risks of letting a client walk but it needs to be done. We have relied on sourcing systems too much and now endeavour to offer a professional recommendation with full audit trails covered. Whether you are a two-man band or have 200 advisers it’s vital to implement a sales process.
The restructure is still bedding-in, taking a step back it’s a positive move but it involves a massive amount of work – I’ve just had two wisdom teeth out and it didn’t come close to the pain of regulation.”
Bill Safran, CEO at Trigold: “KFIs are unfortunately still the major topic of contention in the market. It’s encouraging the FSA is once again consulting on their format and length but what the market needs is a definitive decision. Producing a single, accurate document that provides clarity of comparison for consumers is not rocket science but needs to remain our top priority.”
Paul Duckworth, CEO at xit2 Group: “Numerous issues remain, particularly concerning KFIs, reporting requirements and general business practices such as TCF. I think the common denominator for all of these problems is that the market is crying out for some definitive answers. For all areas of the mortgage market to develop and thrive we need a new era of support from our regulator whereby if you ask a simple question, you get a simple answer.”
James Cotton, mortgage specialist at London & Country: “L&C has been authorised by the FSA since its inception, so we were well prepared for ‘Mortgage Day’. Since then we have kept our commitment to no-fee advice, which has meant we no longer call ourselves independent, despite offering advice from the whole of the market. These new definitions can still cause confusion for consumers.”
