Vic Jannels, group managing director at All Types of Mortgages (AToM), has informed Mortgage Introducer that SPML is not accepting its generic applications because they have the FSA logo on them.
He said he cannot fathom SPML’s stance as the FSA has no problem with the logo being on these documents. The FSA, however, does not allow its logo to be used on marketing material.
It has materialised that the Professional Mortgage Packagers Association (PMPA) initially had the FSA logo on its generic applications but then removed it after SPML said it wouldn’t accept them.
However, some PMPA members, including AToM, have the FSA logo on their own generic mortgage applications.
Jannels said: “The FSA has no problem with us having the FSA logo on these applications. SPML’s stance is quite bizarre. From a business point-of-view, what do we do now? We don’t want to have to put a special print run through just for SPML.”
“It’s the only lender we’ve come across that has a problem with this. Some packagers may now stop using SPML as a result,” Jannels warned.
John Mawdsley, director of The Mortgage Partnership, said it had taken the decision not to use the FSA logo on it generic applications because of the potential problems.
Stuart Aitken, director of credit at SPML, said: “In the FSA’s own guidance it says a firm can use the logo when it is making a statement that it is authorised on letterheads or an electronic equivalent.
“Is an application a statement that the firm is authorised? We have come across another firm who we had the same problem with and it has agreed to change the application when it does its next print run.”
But Robin Gordon-Walker, spokesman at the FSA, said: “With application forms we don’t have any real specific rules. It is mostly down to the firms on how they have historically designed them. But if they find lenders aren’t accepting them, they may want to take the logo off so they don’t lose business.”
