You can take another look at the week’s news and we round up the stand-out, most thought-provoking, or unmissable comments.

Comment any time on the Mortgage Solutions website and you could feature in next week’s Mortgage Mutterings.
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Number of FSA staff earning £100k or more triples in four years 31 Aug 2010

Posted online
I was curious to know how many FSA members earning in excess of £100k salaries compared with salaries awarded our most senior law ‘enforcement officers’. The Police Negotiating Board Circular 07/08 showed the Pay Structure for Chief and Deputy Chief Constables w.e.f 1 September 2007. The highest salary outside of London of £168,006 being awarded to West Midlands Chief Constable; the least, to Central Scotland CC of £117,603. At that time there were 17 Chief Constables, one Northern Ireland CC and the London Commissioner, all earning six figures. This compares with 241 FSA staff. The fatuous comment about attracting only the best staff for enforcement is quite insulting. We are quite mad to allow this despicable use of FSA members fees. A radical message to all FSA Regulated Members: why not surrender your membership and save your fees? No-one has to be regulated to fact-find a client or even offer them generic advice. You only have to be regulated to offer specific product information. And you may, after you have generically advised them, offer a shortlist of product providers to obtain quotes which you may then interpret. Of course you will charge a fee for this service. Comments welcome …
John Grant
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FSA fines and bans two “reckless” mortgage brokers 31 August 2010

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Posted online
I think the FSA seem a pointless organisation. Where were they when the banks were up to no good and what fines were handed out to them. Small organisations always seem to be targeted because the FSA know they can get their (bonuses)out of them as they will not have the legal help behind them to fight the allegations. I would also like to know how the first person got away with not having to pay their fine but the second one had to pay how do they determine this as these fines as supposedly based on what the company can afford?
David
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Mortgage Solutions Poll: Will further house price falls boost the industry? Vote now 02 September 2010

Posted online
Unless the Govt is told to get the FSA to relax regulations, the housing market will keep deteriorating, hitting the banks and the economy. Every day I turn back applicants who are capable of putting a good size deposit and have affordability, but cannot prove income the stringent way the FSA wants. Leave it to the banks to decide on the risks and do the prudent lending. Guidelines can be given and that should suffice. It is hurting growth and will cause more trouble soon.
Salam Ansari

Posted online – comment two

I think that as long as the public continue to see prices fall the fear is of further decreases so its a waiting game. Why buy now when prices are continuing to drop? It’s only when sentiment changes and people think the bottom of the cycle has been reached will people make the decision to buy. Mixed and confusing articles almost on a daily basis continue to confuse.
Patrick McCarry
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BoE to hold rates until Q2 next year, say economists 02 September 2010

Presumably the economist at the Policy Exchange “Thinktank” (well respected by the Treasury) advocating BBR at 8% by 2012 is not amongst the 60.

He could possibly be one of the following:
1. May have a vested interest in panicking borrowers to go for fixed rate mortgages
2. May have pub buddies in the Treasury
Salil Chaudhari
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MS Blog: Should we be buying property for our children now? 03 September 2010

Posted online
Perhaps we should, BUT
Only buy if you have the cash. Don’t mortgage – buy to let in the meanwhile. With mortgages getting ever more difficult to come by and Government and regulator policy clamping down on this type of credit together with (at last) falling prices – there may actually be some mileage in this.
And of course if you are a ‘proper’ IFA rather than just a mortgage adviser, you can then work out the IHT angles once the property reverts eventually to the kids. (Or indeed you can work the ownership that way now as a PET – in trust if necessary).
All in all a prime example of the old phrase “Money goes to money.”
Harry Katz
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Keep the comments coming. It could be you next week.

Have a great weekend.

The Mortgage Solutions team