MMR: FSA could axe whole of market tag
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The Financial Services Authority has put forward plans in its Mortgage Market Review today to scrap the term “whole of market” for mortgage brokers and replace it with “independent”.
It says currently there are a variety of intermediary service labels that ostensibly aim to clarify for consumers the service an intermediary will offer them. These include ‘independent’, ‘limited’, ‘single’, or ‘whole of market’. Some of these service labels and descriptions can also interact across the advised / non-advised spectrum, which it says creates an additional layer of complexity for the consumer.
It thinks consumers simply do not understand these various types of services, which has led it to consider the case for simplification.
It proposes replacing the existing ‘whole of market’, ‘independent’ and ‘single’ labels, with the much simpler and readily understandable ‘independent’ (whole of market) and ‘restricted’ (limited panel) advice only.
For similar reasons, it proposes to replace ‘non-advised’ with ‘information-only’.
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Readers' comments (1)
Dave Doncaster | 19 Oct 2009 3:58 pm
Yet another FSA quote for the 'FSA Joke Book'.
The FSA guidelines, which unless i am very much mistaken, are the rules and principles by which all authorised financial entities are supposed to control themselves, are the most complex ever seen. The FSA have always stated that these are not Rules, they are Guidelines.........duh, lets guess why we had the Credit Crunch then? was it because the lenders guided around them?
Before the FSA look at trying to add to their remit, with this and mortgage books, maybe they should get their own "Customer" focused tools up to date. If you search the FSA for Mortgage Broking Services Limited, they are still catagorised as Authorised. Are they not in Administration??????? :-)
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