In its Directive, the EC said that intermediaries should also be allowed to assist consumers by undertaking preparatory work in respect of mortgage agreements and complete them on behalf of the lender.
Intermediaries will only be granted authorisation to offer mortgage agreements on the basis that they have “all the powers necessary for the performance of their duties in their member states.”
The Directive states that the authorisation of intermediaries could be terminated if it is obtained “through false statements” or if the intermediary “no longer fulfils the requirements” under which authorisation was granted.
The EC added that member states must ensure that authorised credit intermediaries are supervised and that each country will have to establish a register of authorised credit intermediaries. The register will have to be kept up to date with any brokers with rescinded authorisations deleted from the register immediately.
They will also need to ensure that a single information point is established to allow quick and easy public access to the register.
Registered mortgage intermediaries are expected to have no criminal record or credit history issues like bankruptcy on file.
Intermediaries will also be required to hold professional indemnity insurance and the EC will develop draft regulatory technical standards to stipulate the minimum monetary amount of the PII for submission to the commission.
