Mortgage fraud remains ever-present within financial services, and the role of the Mortgage Adviser is pivotal in combating it.
One of the lenders that work hardest to help advisers reduce fraud is HSBC. Faye Harper, the Intermediary Risk Manager at HSBC, has kindly provided us with her hints and tips for fighting mortgage fraud.
Faye’s Hints and Tips
Payslips
- Does the Payslip have an employee number?
- Does the employee number make sense? Employee number 1 is normally reserved for the director.
- If they are paid in cash – do the bank statements reflect this?
- Are there any spelling mistakes?
- Deductions – We would normally expect to see Income tax, NI, and maybe a pension. There could be a reason for minimal deductions, such as the income being below the tax thresholds. We would urge you to query any zero deductions with your client.
Companies House checks
- Does the address match what you know of the employer? Sometimes it could be different, but that can be queried with your client.
- Does the status say active? Or is it dissolved – we have seen applications in the past from companies that are no longer trading.
- Was the company recently incorporated? Based on the incorporation date, does it tie up when the client told you they started working for the company.
Non-Provision of documents / information & adding notes to your case
- Always keep the case updated.
- If you cannot get the information from the client – add an ad-hoc document to keep the lender updated.
- Explain as best you can anything unusual about the case or that would warrant further questioning.
HSBC offer regular training
If you would like to learn more, HSBC offer regular training on many different topics. These bite-size sessions last approximately 15 minutes and will provide a high-level overview on how to prevent mortgage fraud in these key areas, Secondary employment, Family employment and Unconfirmed employment.
Links to these sessions are below:
Family Employment
Wednesday 25th Sept | 15.00 pm
Second Employment
Wednesday 25th Sept | 09.00 am
Unconfirmed Employment
Also, look out for HSBC’s other Webinars on Mortgage Fraud, these are monthly and are emailed out to all advisers.
If you need any further information, please contact the Compliance Department who will be happy to help.
Regards
Alan Baldwin
Director of Compliance
For any questions or queries, contact the Compliance Team
Call : 01708 676110