There is no specific regulatory requirement to produce a suitability report for mortgages.
To our mind, this is crazy thinking and it is our strong recommendation that firms should issue reports for all mortgage related business, be it regulated or not, because this provides good protection against potential complaints.
Think about it another way – will your business be more, or less valuable, if every case is supported by a good quality suitability report?
Important Note: ATEB news is intended to provide general information ONLY. The content, including any views expressed or guidance provided, does not replace the need to comply fully with FCA Rules and Guidance. Unless you have discussed news article content with ATEB, and specifically how it relates to your circumstances, then ATEB disclaims all liability and responsibility and actions arising from any reliance placed upon it. For the avoidance of doubt therefore, any reliance you place on such information without our consultation is at your own risk.
ATEB Compliance offers compliance and regulatory advice.
ATEB Suitability provides report writing software for the financial services market.
We wrote recently about the Conduct Rules and, in particular, breaches and notifications . See here. This article is intended to clarify some of the grey around COCON breaches. All of the following is taken from Policy Statement PS 18-14. When is disciplinary action required? When and how a firm decides to undertake disciplinary action […]
The rights of pension scheme members to transfer, that were established in the Pensions Act 2015 are no longer absolute from 30 November 2021. From that date, in an attempt to identify potential scams and prevent members becoming victims, trustees and scheme managers must ensure specific checks are made before complying with a member’s […]
We previously issued a newsletter in February 2021, outlining government proposals to increase the Normal Minimum Pension Age (NMPA) from 55 to 57, with the change due to come into effect from 6 April 2028. This means that from April 2028, the earliest a member of a pension scheme will be able to access their […]
Policy Statement PS20-06 states: “A firm may set a different level of non-contingent charges if they are not undertaking the full range of advising and related services that are normally provided alongside DB transfer advice. For example, if a firm is not advising on the proposed destination for the funds, it could offer lower charges […]
Pension transfers – considering life cover
Alistair MacDougall Compliance 2015, Drawdown, FCA, Pension, Pension Transfer, PI, transfer
We have seen a very large number of pension transfer suitability reports since the introduction of the pension freedoms that came out of the Pensions Act 2015. Many of these displayed two common threads running through the recommendation. First, many of the clients apparently wanted ‘flexibility’. Second, those same clients wanted ‘control’. These two […]