CML lowers estimates of business by brokers

20 February 2012 | By Tessa Norman

The CML has revised its estimate for brokers’ share of the mortgage market from 58% to 52% for Q4 2011 after a discrepancy between its figures and those of the Financial Services Authority was exposed last year.

In September 2011, Mortgage Strategy reported that the CML was classifying some in-branch sales as broker deals, which had caused it to report a 60% market share for intermediaries in Q1 2011, compared with a 47% share reported by the FSA.

The CML said at the time that the discrepancy stemmed from the fact that it classifies in-branch direct sales as intermediated if the selling firm and providing firm are different FSA regulated entities, whereas the FSA does not.

The selling and providing firm could differ in cases where the latter is part of a group of brands, such as Lloyds Banking Group.

But in a briefing note on its website last week, the CML said the difference in the Q1 2011 data prompted it to take action.

The trade body says it embarked on an audit of the data to establish whether lenders classified their inter-group sales as direct or intermediated and has adjusted its figures retrospectively, meaning they are now close to the FSA’s.

But it says there will always be a small difference between the two figures because its data covers 93% of the lending market, whereas the FSA’s covers 100%.

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