Stephen Atkins, managing director of the Freedom Network, said that with over 10,000 firms renewing their membership with the MCCB a huge number of brokers were still unaccounted for.
“It was expected that at this point in the regulation process the number of brokers joining a network would be increasing, but it has not been picking up to the level expected,” said Atkins.
He added that if these brokers have still not applied for AR status by early September at the latest, there was every possibility they would not get authorised in time.
“For a network to carry out its checks in line with FSA requirements, it takes a good six to eight weeks to just do a proper AR reference check,” he said. “Brokers need to be aware of this so that they appreciate how crucial it is to apply now.”
Chris Cummings, director of the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries (AMI), commented: “Since August enquiries from brokers about what network they should join have increased considerably. Many firms have left it until the Summer to make a choice, but the penny is beginning to drop.”
Andy Young, product manager for mortgages at Sesame, said: “With 65 firms applying for Principal status the low number of ARs means that many networks would not survive.”
