Submitted on Tuesday 21st August 2007
Call for deregulation
The Conservative run Economic Competitiveness Group looks set to advocate the removal of mortgage regulation as part of its radical report aimed at cutting £14bn a year through deregulation.
The report suggests there is no need to regulate mortgages as it is the lender not the customer who takes the risk, according to The Sunday Telegraph. The Group, headed by right wing Tory MP John Redwood, will also call for a number of other financial services regulations to be scrapped and suggest moving responsibility for overseeing commercial banks from the FSA to the Bank of England.
Shadow Chancellor George Osborne says he and leader David Cameron both back the report although the Party will pick and choose between individual policies. Other policies to be included in the report are the scrapping of Home Information Packs, a simplified tax regime, repealing working time regulations and removing data protection laws.
Mortgage regulation was introduced in 2004 replacing the previously self regulated Mortgage Code. It was suggested at the time that the FSA was reluctant to regulate mortgage advice and have so far avoided extending their reach to the Buy to Let and commercial sector.
Stirling Partners takes the point of view that on balance the FSA are doing a good job of trying to understand the dynamics of the mortgage market and it is too early to say what the long term benefits, or otherwise, of that intelligence may be.
