"The regulator should look closely at those networks who offer limited panels and why they choose the lenders they do to be on it."
John Coffield of Paradigm Mortgage Services said that while he believed there was plenty of competition in the mortgage market, the regulator would be highlighting a number of areas.
Coffield said: “The regulator should look closely at those networks who offer limited panels and why they choose the lenders they do to be on it. They should be making sure that there is no ‘pay to play’ element when it comes to these arrangements.”
OneSavings Bank's Adrian Moloney highlighted the concerns raised by advisers about the quality of the service clients were receiving, adding: "There has been a lot of press coverage on this very issue and the big question is whether they are actually good for remortgage customers".
The panellists also highlighted the forthcoming changes to buy-to-let underwriting - in terms of the new requirements for lenders regarding portfolio landlords – as one area which was likely to change the way advisers had to work.
Moloney added: “The buy-to-let market is currently split into two camps – vanilla and more complex. It’s going to get more complex from the 1st October and lenders are going to need more detail from clients. I think lenders will look at validation tools that validate the portfolio in the background; those lenders who can do this will be the winners. Those lenders who have more automated systems will find it more difficult.”
Ian Carswell of BM Solutions agreed that the complexity of the market will only increase, stating: "The buy-to-let market is now far more complex and brokers have far more complex products to choose,” he said. “That’s not making the job any easier for advisers but that doesn’t mean they should be shying away from it. The market is definitely more challenging; there is however a vast market in terms of buy-to-let product transfers that’s currently untapped from an intermediary perspective. Product transfers are undoubtedly a business opportunity for advisers.”
Discussing the Bank of England's recent 5-3 vote on a rate rise, Carswell added that he did not believe now was the right time to raise rates, but would expect to see an increase in 2018.
Adrian Scoutes of Nationwide Building Society said there was clearly still a reluctance to raise rates, given recent comments from Bank of England Governor, Mark Carney. “We have effectively got used to an abnormal position in terms of interest rates over the last seven/eight years,” he said. “I still think there is a reluctance to do too much on rates while we have all the ‘Brexit’ negotiations in the melting pot.”
John Coffield suggested that product rates were still incredibly competitive, especially when compared to SVRs offered by many lenders. “I would urge advisers to look at their existing client bank,” he said. “Far too many clients are on SVRs or about to go on SVRs. Bank Base Rate will only go up and therefore clients may well want to fix for as long as they can.”
