The shock statistic was revealed in figures from a survey conducted by compliance outsourcing operation Huntswood.
The survey also revealed that three quarters of lenders had seen an increase of 59 per cent in compliance expenditure and that 83 per cent of lenders believed on-going costs would be higher post-’Mortgage Day’.
Payam Azadi, head of corporate relations at The Mortgage Times Group, commented: “While on the one hand it is reassuring that so many lenders have invested so much in compliance, on the other hand it is alarming that some appeared to have done nothing.
“From a network point of view this would simply not have been an option.”
Huntswood’s survey also revealed that during a period of record borrowing, 9 out of 10 compliance teams had seconded staff from other parts of the company.
Furthermore, almost all companies have had to involve more than half of their senior management team directly in statutory regulation.
Azadi said: “Perhaps these statistics reveal why some lenders have taken their eyes off the ball when it has come to service standards.”
Andrew Wheeler, senior consultant at Huntswood, commented: “The chance for lenders to manage ‘Mortgage Day’ may have come and gone but lenders can still remain within the rules most effectively by bringing in expert external help.
“Come regulation the real winners will be those lenders and intermediaries that have had their systems independently tested and evaluated.”
Most lenders - 69 per cent - believe that mortgage regulation will benefit the industry with 27 per cent actually wishing it had been implemented sooner.
