The Treasury Select Committee has decided that the mortgage industry is the next on its list for a probe. Money Marketing, an industry newspaper believes that the committee will meet with the industry regulator, the Financial Services Authority to gain an update on those companies that have applied for authorisation under mortgage regulation which comes into force at the end of October this year.
The Treasury Select Committee is made up from MP's from all parties. They seem to have taken a keen interest in the run-up to mortgage regulation and are apparently interested in companies that receive their authorisation in time for regulation. The last Treasury Select Committee investigation was into mortgage endowments. Whilst a lot of mud was slung, nothing really positive came of out it for consumers and policyholders.
Our View
We cannot see why MPs are keen on seeing which companies obtain their authorisation by the time regulation of the mortgage industry commences in October. The FSA has 6 months in which to process a complete application so firms know how long it takes and when to get their applications in. They might be concerned that the FSA cannot keep to the deadlines but, if that were the case, the FSA would engage more staff. Meeting the deadline is not an option for them, it is an obligation.