This week’s award goes to Tim Hague for his comment on: Waterson defends equity release market after FCA slur.
I think protestations of this type don’t carry much weight. It is true that the industry has cleaned its act up considerably due, in large part, to the efforts of Andrea Rozario and the forerunner to the Equity Release Council, SHIP.
It was also Andrea who brought the broader industry together to improve the proposition and join the various components of the equity release solution together.
The role that the Equity Release Council has played in lobbying the government and the regulator should also be commended. But when it comes to addressing the consumer and consumer concerns/opinions the Equity Release Council has failed. It has been left to individual providers to fight that particular cause with the inevitable view from consumers that ‘they would say that, wouldn’t they’.
There has been discussion, recently, about whether equity release needs a change of name to distance itself from the ways of the past. But that too simply papers over the cracks and the consumer will see through it and regard it as another example of the financial services industry trying to cover up previous misdemeanors.
Instead, the FCA are right on this occasion. What is needed is an independent review that, I am sure, will highlight a lot of really good practices by the majority of the industry. Instead of a slur, the FCA actually recognises that for the generation due to retire in the next decade, equity release is probably their only salvation. And so it is in the best interests of all concerned to address the issues with regard to the reputation of equity release among the consumer far more than any particular need to change the practices of (most of) the industry.
The Equity Release Council should embrace this move and actively bring the industry together to support the regulator.
