COMPLIANCE UPDATES

Consumer Duty There is a lot of press in the industry about Consumer Duty and what this means to advisers. I can confirm that as the Network Principal, Connect is required to interpret the new standards and implement any requirements across the network. Network members are not required to consider what action is to be

Financial Reporter Offers Structured Learning Articles CPD Articles on Financial Reporter are CII-accredited and offer thought leadership and education to the adviser community, helping to maintain professional development, and inspire growth and innovation. These articles are designed to help you get the most out of Financial Reporter and earn CPD hours as you read! Here’s

Following a consultation period, in July of this year, the FCA issued the Consumer Duty Paper. This paper sets out rules that put consumers at the heart of our businesses and focus on delivering good customer outcomes. Implementation is by July 2023 In addition to this, the AR paper was issued by the FCA in

Lenders are currently seeing an increased number of cases with some form of fraudulent income, and this is also the most common reason for a lender to flag a concern with a broker. With the cost of living crisis and affordability calculations tightening, this could increase further. If an application is submitted and the lender

View this email in your browser We have completed a review of the steps required to reach CAS status and made some changes. We wanted to respond to the feedback that experienced advisers sometimes needed to move quickly to get a customer decision in principles underway, so we have introduced just one green pass before

We have all watched the tragedy evolve in Ukraine with great sadness and anxiety. It is therefore essential that we remain vigilant to ensure we are not a party to any financial crime that aids the conflict. The FCA has recently published the below announcing the new financial sanctions against Russia. It is your regulatory responsibility to ensure you are strictly following the guidance.

Sign up for today’s session to find out how to have the protection conversation with every client – write it, refer it, don’t ignore it

The Lloyds Banking Group which includes lenders such as Halifax and BM Solutions have recently introduced changes to their process of registering appointed representatives from the Connect Mortgages network to their broker panel. These changes will affect advisers looking to register for: (i) the first time, as well as
(ii) advisers already registered

The new process requires two dedicated Connected Administrators (one primary and one deputy) to be registered as the administrator for the appointed representative firm via their lender-issued Panel Number. Therefore, if you feel that you will need to use a lender from the Lloyds Banking Group in the near future, then please contact the Connect Mortgages Registrations Team or Members Support at the earliest opportunity. For further information on what you need to do, please read on.

Unsurprisingly, the top reason for cases being declined in H1 2021 has been Income & Employment Fraud (Staged Income) including both employed and self-employed applicants (over 70% of all prevented cases).