The guide consists of 70 key “frequently asked questions” (FAQs) and answers, grouped under 30 keywords ranging from “Advice” through to “Training and Competency”. The guide can be downloaded from the “compliance” section of the SPML website and is freely available to all website visitors as it is in a non-passworded area of the website.
Stuart Aitken, SPML’s director of credit, explains: “This guide has been developed in direct response to the express needs of our packagers. During our recent series of packager regulation roadshows, we surveyed everyone who attended to find out their most urgent information needs. The most popular request (69% of all respondents) was for a simple A-Z guide to the issues in booklet format – and that is exactly what we have now produced. In particular, we have incorporated all the unprompted questions and comments that were entered on our survey forms, so the guide truly reflects the “grass roots” concerns shared by packagers and brokers.
“With regulatory developments coming thick and fast, it is not practical to produce a printed version – which would soon get out of date. However, the vast majority of brokers and packagers have access to the internet now and they will be able to print the guide straight from our site. Keeping this document as web-based information means that we can be constantly updating the entries so that visitors to the site will always have the latest information.”
Mark Piper, MD of Phoenix Mortgages, Southampton, downloaded the FAQ A-Z guide. He said: “This guide gives fast and easy access to the information you need – without wading through loads of unnecessary waffle. It is clearly set out, without being too simplistic in its approach”.
