You are here: Home - News -

CML warns EU regulation could stifle UK lender evolution

by:
  • 06/11/2013
  • 0
CML warns EU regulation could stifle UK lender evolution
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has warned lender development will be stifled if the EU mortgage directive forces another wave of major regulation changes.

CML director-general Paul Smee, speaking to an audience of industry faces at the trade body’s conference, said after the process of implementing the Mortgage Market Review lenders did not want to be faced with another set of systems changes.

“We’ve been through the upheaval of MMR and it should have delivered the objectives of the directive in a UK context, we don’t want more detailed time consuming changes,” he said.

Smee said continuing to devote time and money to repeated regulation change was preventing his members from working on other areas of their businesses.

“They tie up systems development, works and resource that could better be devoted to improving the customer experience, risk management or something more internal to a firm.

“I am constantly amazed at how much internal IT resource within lenders is devoted to third party demands rather not the growth and development of their own business.”

The CML will be involved in the implementation of the directive but Smee said he feared more than minimal changes would be required.

“As soon as a directive is negotiated the negotiating team will claim it will mean minimal changes to UK regulation, yet when the consultative document comes out it is well into the hundreds of pages.

“We’ve had the assurance that only minimal changes will be required for the mortgage directive to be implemented into UK regulation and I await the consultation document more in fear than hope.

“The key point I would like to put to anyone in this room who is drafting the document is that I hope they will look at the broad implementation approach and the substance of what the directive is trying to achieve, not its prissy detail.”

Smee later added the CML would look to be involved in the process of creating a self-regulatory framework for the buy-to-let market in accordance with the directive.

“From the CML’s point of view what we intend to do is ensure we pick up the baton of adequate self-regulation,” he said. “There is one area of the directive where a framework could work for buy-to-let, if imposed in a self-regulated way.”

Related Posts

There are 0 Comment(s)

You may also be interested in