Regulator bans director who had a poor grasp of its requirements
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The Financial Services Authority has banned a director from holding a senior position for two years, after he put up to 300 customers at risk of receiving unsuitable mortgage advice.
Durham-based Roger Collins was the only director and approved person at his firm Thoroughgood Harrison and Davies.
An FSA review found that inadequate affordability assessments had been undertaken by the firm’s advisers.
One customer was recommended a mortgage contract that exceeded his net income while some others were recommended potentially unaffordable mortgage contracts that extended into their retirement.
Collins’ inadequate management and poor understanding of reg-ulatory requirements led the FSA to conclude he lacked the capability to perform roles of significant influence at authorised firms.
He also breached an undertaking given to the FSA to prevent an un qualified adviser from giving unsupervised advice to customers.
The company is now in voluntary liquidation.
Collins would have been fined £30,000 for failure to comply with Principle 7 of the regulator’s code of conduct for approved persons but imposing such a fine would have threatened his solvency.
Margaret Cole, head of enforce-ment and financial crime, says: “Collins failed to manage his firm adequately and also failed to convince us he was capable and competent to perform a function of sig nificant influence.”
Last week the FSA also fined and banned Bolton-based mortgage and insurance broker, Riaz Ahmad.
Ahmad was fined £5,000 and banned for failing to act with competence and capability, including failing to have suitable compliance and risk management processes in place at Finance.com.
Ahmad’s failings were initially picked up during an FSA Treating Customers Fairly assessment.
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