New website supports mortgage intermediaries in Treating Customers Fairly

A website offering practical guidance to mortgage intermediaries on how to implement the FSA principle of Treating Customers Fairly (TCF) is set to launch this week.

TCF Info (www.tcfinfo.co.uk), which offers plain English tips, tools and templates for own-branding, has been developed following research undertaken with over 300 mortgage intermediaries into their understanding and concerns about TCF. Supported by seven founder lenders, and co-ordinated and managed by Frank Eve Consulting Limited, ‘TCF Info’ aims to offer a ‘one stop TCF shop’ tailored to the needs of intermediaries.

Founder lenders supporting the initiative are:

Money Partners
Future Mortgages
Platform
Southern Pacific Mortgage Limited (SPML)
GE Money Home Lending
Rooftop Mortgages
Freedom Lending

Further lenders from within and outside the specialist market have expressed an interest in the initiative and are expected to join in the coming months.

Frank Eve, Managing Director of Frank Eve Consulting Limited said, “It became clear in discussions with lenders that their brokers were unsure about what they needed to do to implement TCF. At the same time lenders themselves were concerned about how best to get the TCF message across in an informative and impartial way. The TCF Lender Forum was borne out of these discussions and from here we carried out market research with intermediaries to find out what we could do to help them.”

Intermediary concerns

Eve continues, “Our research revealed widespread concern amongst brokers and packagers about how to implement TCF on a day to day basis – and about how to show that this was being done. While this confirmed what we’d seen and heard already, we were nevertheless surprised at the number intermediaries who said that they weren’t sure what TCF actually meant or didn’t know that the FSA would be carrying out checks asking them to evidence TCF implementation in their businesses.”

Templates and guides can be own-branded

The first release of the TCF Info website on 21 June offers intermediaries a range of plain English guides, checklists, letter templates and logs which can be downloaded and own-branded. These cover not only the general areas of TCF key principles, TCF planning and training – but also the more specific areas of mortgage complaint handling, financial promotion and TCF MI (management information).

A separate Case Studies area uses mortgage specific scenarios to address the potential conflict between TCF and lending criteria, and offers possible solutions based on best practice. It also includes more detailed ‘How to’ studies on ways to implement TCF procedures into a mortgage business, together with deep links to the Case Study area of the FSA website.

Eve says, “We asked brokers and packagers what they would like to see on a TCF website and then developed content in response to those needs. And while with many websites the message is ‘you may not re-use our material’, at TCF Info we invite intermediaries to download and own-brand our material to help with training and implementing TCF on a day to day basis. TCF Info is an enabling and ‘task driven’ website, which is what our brokers and packagers told us they wanted. The only exclusion of re-use of TCF Info material is on intranets or other websites.”

Eve is at pains to points out that TCF Info is not a substitute for FSA rules and principles, but rather a supporting tool. Throughout the site, deep links to the FSA are provided and intermediaries are encouraged to check the detailed guidance if they are at all unsure of their obligations. They are also encouraged to join the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries for further support and guidance.

A TCF ‘News and Info’ section will complement the guides and tools to make it easier for mortgage intermediaries to keep abreast of developments in TCF strategy relevant to the mortgage industry and take action where necessary. It offers links to relevant TCF speeches and events and will provide a regular ‘TCF Info Newsletter’ which intermediaries can register to receive by email broadcast.

TCF Info in the future

The TCF Info site will be further developed in coming months to cover all elements of the product life cycle and to expand on those already there. An intermediary forum and market research area may also be introduced. Eve says that intermediary feedback will continue to inform the core development of the TCF Info site which aims to become the website of choice for brokers and packagers wanting to get to grips with TCF best practice in the mortgage industry.

Eve concludes, “TCF Info enables lenders to pool resources to offer intermediaries the support they need to understand and implement TCF. It’s a ‘win win win’ situation. Lenders win out by being able to spread a neutral and cost effective message to their distribution networks; intermediaries win out by having access to timely and practical information that helps them implement TCF swiftly and effectively – thereby creating loyal customers; customers win out by receiving the fair treatment that they deserve.

“By helping drive change that supports TCF amongst mortgage intermediaries lenders are not only evidencing their own commitment to the TCF principle, they will also help reduce the likelihood of issues being identified during FSA visits which may result in tighter firm-based or industry-wide regulation. The more lenders we have on board, the more support we’ll be able to offer mortgage intermediaries through our pooled resources.”

Kate Davies, Senior Policy Adviser at the CML, commented, “We fully support this excellent initiative which provides much needed tailored guidance on TCF for mortgage intermediaries. Any move to help them offer their customers a better service – as well as follow the rules and principles laid down by the FSA – is good news for customers, intermediaries and the mortgage industry as a whole.”

Rob Griffiths, Associate Director of AMI, echoed these comments. Griffiths said, “We are fully supportive of any initiative that provides information to mortgage intermediaries on the Treating Customers Fairly (TCF) initiative. TCF applies to all firms and is a key initiative in the FSA’s move to principles-based regulation. Brokers should now use all the information available and begin embedding TCF throughout all levels of their business.”

To find out more, and to start implementing TCF in your mortgage intermediary business – large or small – go to www.tcfinfo.co.uk If you’re a lender and would like to support the TCF Info initiative, please contact Frank Eve at frank@frankeveconsulting.co.uk

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‘Notes to Editors’ – includes

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