Although the FCA’s Live and Local programme is well established, this is the first year mortgage intermediaries have been invited to attend.
Project manager Mark Goold said they answered a mix of questions around affordability assessments and suitability letters from firms of varying sizes, with a strong presence from directly authorised firms.
Goold said the roadshows were an opportunity to remind the adviser community of the importance of following the rules and to help them understand how to follow them correctly.
“Firms were surprised about the level of compliance they actually needed to do,” said Goold in response to Mortgage Solutions’ question that some brokers felt they were being forced to spend too much time documenting and not enough advising.
Goold would not comment on why the message being filtered through to brokers was encouraging more compliance work than necessary, but said if a broker was a part of a network, it was the network’s prerogative to set the compliance bar where it saw fit.
Chairman John Griffith-Jones (pictured), said setting the record straight over compliance requirements was one of Live & Local’s objectives.
While no one theme emerged from intermediaries’ questions, Goold said the feedback forms revealed one common concern.“On our forms we ask brokers to tell us what the risks are which they see facing the market and some said second charge loans.”
Live & Local is in the second month of its tour which will end in March 2017. To find out where the next leg of the roadshow will be, visit the regulator’s interactive map.
