Over 10,000 mortgage advisers have yet to register with an approved examining body where they can sit the vital professional industry qualifications, according to the Mortgage Code Compliance Board (MCCB), writes Ben Marquand.
The MCCB, the industry watchdog, has expressed concern that many advisers now have fewer than 18 months to pass either the Mortgage Advice Qualification (MAQ) or the Certificate in Mortgage Advice and Practice (CeMAP), which would mean that those failing to do so would no longer be able to provide mortgage advice.
The latest figures from the MCCB show that around 25% of mortgage advisers have not yet begun the qualification process, although 37,200 advisers have registered with the Institute of Financial Services for CeMap and 15,700 of these have now completed the qualification. In addition, statistics from the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) show that 6,300 have signed up to take the MAQ, and 2,900 of these have passed.
Luke March, chief executive of the MCCB, said: ‘The introduction of compulsory qualifications sets a new trend in the mortgage industry raising professional standards and increasing customer confidence in the industry.
‘While we are pleased at the steady growth in advisers registering for the examinations, time is running out for those still not registered to take CeMAP or MAQ. The deadline of end December 2002 may seem a long way ahead, but leaving it late in the day to take exams will put advisers under a great deal of unnecessary pressure.’The proposals are aimed at improving customer information and giving a fairer deal to people in arrears
