Almost 70,000 mortgage advisers have registered to take one of the mortgage qualifications, set to become mandatory by December 2002.
But the Mortgage Code Compliance Board (MCCB) has said some brokers may miss the final deadline due to a lack of preparation. Brad Baker, head of communications at the MCCB, said it is vital brokers allow enough time to prepare for the examinations.
He said: ‘The exam bodies say a student needs around 40 hours of study for one paper such as the Certificate in Mortgage Advice (CeMAP) bridge paper. It is important to book exam dates and plan your approach to the qualifications as you will need to allocate time to study each week.’
Intermediaries providing mortgage advice and recommendation must complete either the Certificate in Mortgage Advice and Practice or the Mortgage Advice Qualification (MAQ) by the end of the year. Those not meeting the MCCB requirements will no longer be able to advise on mortgages unsupervised.
However, Baker said registration for the exams has been higher than the MCCB anticipated.
He said: ‘Figures indicate the majority of the mortgage industry has already signed up. We thought more people would opt to provide information only, rather than advice. Consumers want advice and the industry is responding.’
The latest figures from the MCCB show 51,120 advisers have registered for the CeMAP or the CeMAP Bridge paper with 19,004 now qualified. 6,200 brokers have registered for CeMAP and 2,100 have completed. Meanwhile 12,000 brokers have registered for MAQ and 5,500 have completed the exam.
According to the MCCB, despite the majority of applicants being brokers, some lenders are entering non-sales staff for the exams ‘ another encouraging sign.
Baker added: ‘The figures are encouraging and we are expecting a surge of completion over the next few months.’
