Water companies prepared for predicted housing transaction surge

The government’s Autumn statement confirmed their intention to remove the exemption in stamp duty for first time buyers on property under £250k on 24th March 2012. Previous changes to stamp duty levels in April 2011 for purchases over £1 million saw buyers scrambling to complete ahead of the deadline, and experts are predicting a similar surge in the marketplace in early March to beat the charge.

Providing consistently reliable service levels, with over 95% of CON29 Drainage & Water searches returned in 3 days, the water companies of England and Wales are prepared to meet this push in demand and ensure that we deliver for customers ahead of the concession expiry date.

This time changes will affect first time buyers instead of those purchasing properties over the £1million mark, but the need for high quality and reliable searches on properties remains the same.

The year ahead continues to look challenging for the housing and mortgage market, and the wider economy. With so much uncertainty in the marketplace we are continuing to work hard to ensure we always provide an accurate and underwritten service for homebuyers as they make the biggest purchase of their lives.

For more information about the CON29DW contact Suzi Ibbotson at WIPIN on 0207 344 1889.

Appointing a great Non-Executive Director

Great boards are created by good chairman and in this article Joëlle Warren, Executive Chairman of Warren Partners, draws on their experience of working with chairmen to recruit non executive directors (NEDs) to their boards.  They have identified six simple guidelines for successful NED appointments in the building society sector: seek balance within the team; appoint individuals with broad experience; ensure prospective NEDs can devote sufficient time to fulfil the role; look for people with the self-confidence to show independence in their judgement; screen out anyone who fails to demonstrate the right behaviours around teamwork and learning and ensure they share the values of the society. 

Putting teams together on this basis is what leads to effective boards every bit as much as the technical side of good governance around clarity of roles and responsibilities, accountability and transparency.

Read the full article here

For more information about Warren Partners please visit www.warrenpartners.co.uk

What to expect from your valuation and property risk management partner

Last year, many financial institutions reduced their residential mortgage lending yet building societies have grown their share of the UK market. Building societies have proved a resilient source of mortgage lending to members in a very challenging market. This kind of commitment is the product of many successful composite parts. The mutual model is perhaps ideally placed to take a more bespoke risk based approach to lending to residential borrowers, many of whom will have an existing relationship with the society. A key element of the risk-based approach is the assessment of the security for the mortgage and the selection of a valuation partner whose expertise can be relied upon is critical.

With the spectre of further falls in house prices, a deteriorating job market, and perhaps another recession, accurate valuations are as fundamental now to supporting this role as ever. Valunation understands this because we think like a lender.

To find out how we can help manage your valuation risks, Alison Beech, Business Relationship Director and Head of Valunation, outlines what every mutual should expect from its valuation and property risk management partner. 

Read the full article here

Risk management

The heightened importance of governance, oversight and risk management has been one of the strongest influences affecting financial services in recent times.

This has arisen against a background where the economy remains fragile and many financial services firms have been working hard to improve their public image. 

Although confidence is improving:

•        Levels of business remain subdued;
•        Firms continue to tackle impairment levels;
•        Profitability is under pressure; and
•        There is a struggle to raise affordable funds, reflecting the continuing difficulties in wholesale funding markets and intense competition for retail deposits.

As such the outlook is uncertain and continued growth and business development is likely to be constrained.

Read the full article here

FSA: Report into the failure of the Royal Bank of Scotland

On 12 December 2011, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) published the FSA Board Report into the failure of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). The Report follows investigations initiated by the FSA in 2009 into a series of bank failures during the 2007 to 2008 financial crisis. The investigation into events at RBS was among the most intensive of all those the FSA conducted but its Enforcement Division concluded in December 2010 that there was not sufficient evidence to bring enforcement actions which would have a reasonable chance of success against senior individuals at RBS.

In July 2011, the FSA decided to produce a summary account of its enforcement investigations and to supplement this with a more comprehensive report on the reasons for RBS’s failure. This article aims to summarise the Report’s key findings, the reasons why the FSA decided not to take any enforcement action and its recommendations for policy and other regulatory changes.

Read the full article here

An established name with a fresh approach

The number of factors affecting the valuation of a residential property continues to grow.  Not only is a surveyor having to value property in a static/declining market for the first time in many years, but increasingly he/she is being asked to take additional factors into consideration.  Such factors as the impact of the potential removal of the provision of flood insurance; do Solar Panels add or detract from the value; what is the impact of the modern methods of construction on values in the short and medium term?  At Gateway we seek to provide advice guidance on such topics.  We work with clients to determine the likely impact and how this could affect the risk profiling of residential lending policy.

Gateway has become an Associate of the BSA in 2012 and is looking to ensure that these messages and the impact of such scenarios are cascaded to the members.  We have an established base of quality building societies for whom we are providing such advice and are now representing some of these on the BSA Valuation Panel.

We would welcome the chance to discuss these and other topics with you.  For further information please contact Mel Kettle at mel.kettle@gatewaysurveyors.co.uk or on 01332 693100.

Government New Build Initiative should be welcomed

The recently announced Government MIG Scheme for new build homes is a welcome development in what otherwise remains a pretty dismal market.  New Build has particular appeal to First Time Buyers who are keen to avoid the additional expense of repairs that sometimes comes with older property and value the peace of mind that a Building Certificate gives. 

In recent years lenders have been cautious over new build lending - rightly so in some cases where developments subsequently proved to be essentially unsustainable.  Our analysis or repossession data also indicates that property constructed after 2007 is 2.5 times more likely to be repossessed than a ‘second hand’ home.  

Lenders will remain prudent about over exposure and ‘this time around’ an increasing number are using the e.surv New Build tool to accurately measure exposure and optimise lending distribution.  Lenders are able to track the precise proportion of their new build lending for each development, postcode or region and are made aware when new phases alter these proportions - allowing additional lending to take place but also critically ensuring the lender does not exceed its own self defined limit.  Timely and accurate data of this kind is a key element in the wider underwriting process. 

Contact e.surv for further information -  Richard.sexton@esurv.co.uk / www.esurv.co.uk

Handling complaints and coping with FOS

by Simon Morris and Alison McHaffie, CMS Cameron McKenna

How firms handle their customer complaints has always been an FSA priority and will continue to be a key focus in the new regulatory regime under the Financial Conduct Authority.  As part of this agenda FSA introduced a number of new rules in May 2011 aiming to increase the quality of firms’ complaints handling and to increase senior management accountability for complaints. FSA has also made it clear that the quality of a firm's complaints handling will form a central part of the regulator’s intensive and intrusive supervision of conduct risks.  The importance FSA attaches to this element of a firm's business and its commitment to take action where failings are found is demonstrated by the significant fines it has imposed over poor complaints handling in the banking sector.

With the publication of firm-specific complaints data and the proposal to publish FOS final decisions, how a firm handles its complaints will increasingly be seen as the public measure of how a firm treats its customers with the consequent impact on its reputation in the market place.

Click here for the full article on the CMS Cameron McKenna LLP website

What is Cloud Computing?

An article by Jim Ford (Partner) and Charlotte Mullarkey (Senior PSL) of Allen & Overy LLP. 

“Confusion abounds when cloud computing is discussed, and the situation is getting worse, not better” (Gartner). Some say that lawyers are mainly looking for problems – not solutions. So what does Allen & Overy have to add to the discussions? We see cloud computing as an integral element of today’s technology use and believe that the risks of using the cloud are often exaggerated and can, in most cases, be prevented or addressed; even in the case of businesses which are particularly sensitive about security (such as banks and building societies).

This article explains what the cloud is and describes the benefits that it offers.

Read the full article here

ADT: Help protect the financial community and its customers

ADT is the largest fire and security company with over 8 million customers and over 60 000 employees worldwide.

The challenge that the financial industry faces increases almost daily as criminal activity becomes more sophisticated and identity theft and fraud become widespread.   On-line security is also a rising challenge. Now, more than ever before, banks and financial institutions need sophisticated solutions to protect themselves and their customers.

Did you know?
Our service and maintenance agreements can be tailored to meet specific operating conditions and budgets. In the UK alone we have over 1,600 specialist engineers installing, maintaining and servicing security and fire systems via a network of local branches, giving a local service to a national standard.

To learn more
Visit www.adt.co.uk or call +44 (0) 800 138 0375 to speak with one of our finance account managers.

Payment Protection Products: FSA/OFT Joint Guidance Consultation

by Adam Bennett (Partner) and Karen Brown (PSL) of Addleshaw Goddard LLP

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) and the Office of Fair Trading launched a joint guidance consultation (CP) in relation to payment protection products (PPP), such as income protection, payment waiver and debt freeze, in November 2011. PPP are commonly sold with mortgages and other loans.
 
The CP comes as the protection market shifts away from Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) following the ban on selling PPI with credit. It follows concerns that the mistakes made in relation to PPI must not be repeated.

The CP will be a concern for PPP providers because it contains prescriptive proposals which will affect the pricing, design and distribution of PPP. It will also be of interest to other financial services businesses as it is an indication of the approach the FSA will take to product intervention.

In its current form the proposed guidance risks causing the PPP market to contract, driving out providers and driving up prices. This will be bad for consumers as well as for PPP providers, as consumers most in need of protection may struggle to find protection they are eligible for and/or which they can afford.

The consultation closed for responses on 13 January and final guidance is awaited.

Read the full article here