Mortgage regulation

Tighter controls on mortgages have come into force to protect borrowers in the UK from mis-selling and rogue lenders.

Voluntary regulation of the industry ended on October 31, with mortgages now being policed by the city watchdog, the Financial Services Authority.

The Watchdog says loans will be more transparent and people will have access to an independent ombudsman to end disputes.

But there are fears lenders could pass on the costs of complying with the new statutory regulation to borrowers.

Stakeholder Response: Council of Mortgage Lenders

CML deputy director Peter Williams said: "We recognise the huge scale of the task undertaken by the FSA.  However, lenders now need to move into the new regime without causing disruption to customers or to the market. 

 

"To do this, they must have a reliable and readily accessible means of checking whether an intermediary is properly authorised. The FSA register is the only practical way to do this, and lenders will be relying on it as the authoritative source.