London, United Kingdom
Caproasia.com | The leading source of data, research, information & resource for financial professionals, investment managers, professional investors, family offices & advisors to institutions, billionaires, UHNWs & HNWs. Covering capital markets, investments and private wealth in Asia. How do you invest $3 million to $300 million? How do you manage $20 million to $3 billion of assets? Caproasia - Learn more



This site is for accredited investors, professional investors, investment managers and financial professionals only. You should have assets around $3 million to $300 million or managing $20 million to $3 billion.










UK Regulator FCA Provides Guidance to Banks & Lenders to Support Existing Property Loans Borrowers, Including Options for Reduced Monthly Payment & Interest Only Payment

8th December 2022 | Hong Kong

The UK regulator FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) has provided guidance to banks & lenders to support existing property loans borrowers, including options for reduced monthly payment & interest only payment.  UK FCA: “The FCA’s draft guidance sets out the flexibility firms have to support customers who have missed monthly mortgage payments or are worried they may not be able to make payments in future. It covers options such as extending the term of their mortgage, switching to interest-only for a temporary period, moving to a different interest rate or making reduced monthly payments for a temporary period.”  Sheldon Mills, UK FCA Executive Director of Consumers and Competition: “Most borrowers are able to keep up with their mortgage payments and should continue to do so. But if you’re struggling to pay your mortgage, or are worried you might, you don’t need to struggle alone. Your lender has a range of tools available to help, so you should contact them as soon as possible.”  The current UK central bank (Bank of England) interest rate is 3%, with the next review scheduled for 15th December 2022. See below for more info.

“ UK Regulator FCA Provides Guidance to Banks & Lenders to Support Existing Property Loans Borrowers, Including Options for Reduced Monthly Payment & Interest Only Payment “

 



- Article continues below -



Sign Up
Basic Member: $5 Monthly | $60 Yearly
Newsletter Daily 2 pm (Promo): $20 Monthly | $180 Yearly (FP: $680)


The 2024 Investment Day
6th March Hong Kong | 13th March Singapore

Private Equity, Hedge Funds, Boutique Funds, Private Markets & more. Taking place on 6th March 2024 in Hong Kong, 13th March 2024 in Singapore.
Visit | Register here


The 2024 Family Office Summit
10th April Hong Kong | 24th April Singapore

Join 100+ single family offices & family office professionals in Hong Kong & Singapore
Links: 2024 Family Office Summit | Register here





UK FCA Guidance for firms supporting their existing mortgage borrowers impacted by the rising cost of living

London, United Kingdom

FCA sets out how mortgage firms should be supporting borrowers

7th Dec 2022 – The FCA expects firms to support their customers in a range of ways that meet their needs. It has published guidance setting out options firms can use to support their customers to manage their monthly mortgage payments, alongside new information for borrowers affected by rising prices.

Sheldon Mills, Executive Director of Consumers and Competition at the FCA, said:  “Most borrowers are able to keep up with their mortgage payments and should continue to do so. But if you’re struggling to pay your mortgage, or are worried you might, you don’t need to struggle alone. Your lender has a range of tools available to help, so you should contact them as soon as possible.”

The FCA’s draft guidance sets out the flexibility firms have to support customers who have missed monthly mortgage payments or are worried they may not be able to make payments in future. It covers options such as extending the term of their mortgage, switching to interest-only for a temporary period, moving to a different interest rate or making reduced monthly payments for a temporary period.

Making changes, even temporary ones, may result in higher monthly payments in future or paying back more overall. Mortgage borrowers should consider carefully any steps they take and customers who can keep up with their payments should continue to do so.

The FCA has also attended a roundtable, hosted by the UK Government, alongside mortgage lenders to discuss what support some mortgage borrowers may need.  The FCA is closely monitoring the mortgage market and will continue to act so consumers get the support they need.

Today’s publications build on what the FCA has already done to make sure firms treat customers fairly and support those struggling financially due to the rising cost of living. The regulator has previously reminded firms of how they should support borrowers and how they need to improve their treatment of those in financial difficulty.

Notes:

  • The FCA is seeking comments on the draft guidance by 5pm on 21 December 2022.
  • Anyone struggling financially can visit MoneyHelper for tips on living on a squeezed income and to find free, expert debt advice.

 

UK FCA Guidance for firms supporting their existing mortgage borrowers impacted by the rising cost of living

We’re consulting on draft guidance explaining a range of options firms have to support customers, including varying a contract for forbearance purposes.  The draft guidance seeks to clarify the effect of our existing rules and principles rather than set out new expectations or requirements. To ensure we can act quickly to enable firms to help consumers, we are consulting on this guidance over the next 10 working days.  There is no statutory requirement to prepare a cost benefit analysis for guidance.  We would welcome comments from stakeholders on this draft guidance by 5pm on Wednesday 21 December 2022. Please send your comments to: [email protected].

Guidance for firms

Many mortgage borrowers face higher mortgage payments alongside other increases in the cost of living. Borrowers may approach lenders needing or wanting to reduce, or smooth increases in, their monthly payments.

This guidance explains how firms can support their customers including through automated processes and digital channels. It sets out the flexibility firms have when providing forbearance to those who need it, and the scope firms have to vary contract terms for other borrowers who want to reduce their monthly payments.

This guidance should be read alongside the Handbook provisions in the Mortgage Conduct of Business Sourcebook (MCOB) as well as our Tailored Support Guidance (TSG) and June 2022 Dear CEO letter.

Providing forbearance

In the Dear CEO letter, we said that the TSG is also relevant to borrowers in financial difficulties due to the rising cost of living. So, if a customer indicates that they are experiencing or reasonably expect to experience payment difficulties due to the rising cost of living, firms should offer prospective forbearance to enable them to avoid, reduce, or manage any payment shortfall that would otherwise arise. This includes customers who have not yet missed a payment (TSG paras 3.3, 5.9).

There are many different types of forbearance which are not limited to the options set out in our rules (at MCOB 13.3.4AR). Firms may offer payment concessions where they agree to accept less than the contractual monthly instalment (resulting in a payment shortfall), but they may also offer contract variations such as term extensions and temporary switches to interest-only. Not all firms will be able to offer contract variations.

Firms must act honestly, fairly and professionally in accordance with the best interests of their customers (MCOB 2.5A). Given this, Principle 6, and MCOB 13.3.4AR, any forbearance option(s) should be appropriate to a customer’s individual circumstances.

Firms should be able to justify a decision to offer a particular forbearance option (MCOB 13.3.4CG, Principle 6).

Providing forbearance at scale

The TSG (para 2.8) confirms that firms have flexibility and scope to tailor their approach to meet the operational challenge of many customers needing help at the same time. Our rules and guidance do not impose prescriptive requirements about how a firm collects information on a customer’s individual financial circumstances or how it ensures any forbearance option proposed is appropriate for that customer given their individual circumstances (TSG para 2.9). Firms can use automation or digital tools to:

  • automate processes, such as asking borrowers to provide information on their circumstances, including their income and expenditure
  • offer a customer a forbearance option the firm has identified as appropriate to the customer’s individual circumstances, and seek the customer’s agreement to it
  • offer a customer a range of options that the firm has identified as appropriate to the customer’s individual circumstances for the customer to choose from

In the context of the rising cost of living, a firm may be able to offer a group of customers with similar needs and circumstances a range of options that are appropriate to their circumstances.

Firms should have policies, procedures and controls in place to avoid agreeing inappropriate forbearance arrangements with customers who may have more complex needs, including those who may be in more vulnerable circumstances due to physical or mental illness, unemployment or other characteristics of vulnerability.

Information can be provided to customers digitally, although some may not have access to online channels or may find digital interactions difficult. Firms should therefore offer to engage with customers in different ways, including through a range of channels and, where possible, give customers the ability to switch between them (TSG paras 5.33-5.34).

Contract variations for the purposes of forbearance

Firms may vary a contract without assessing affordability (as set out in MCOB 11.6.2R) when doing so solely for the purposes of forbearance where the customer has a payment shortfall, or in order to prevent one occurring (MCOB 11.6.3R(3)). This could include a contract variation which switches a repayment mortgage onto an interest-only basis for all or part of its term, or extends the mortgage term into (or further into) retirement.

When dealing with a customer who is in or at risk of payment shortfall, firms may, where appropriate, vary a contract to accept payment on an interest-only basis for a temporary period without evidence of a clearly understood and credible repayment strategy (MCOB 11.6.43R). A variation is only likely to be considered appropriate and temporary if, after the temporary period is over, the customer is obliged to make payments of interest and capital which are designed to repay the mortgage in full over the remaining term.

If permanently varying a contract to an interest-only mortgage, a firm would need to have evidence of a clearly understood and credible repayment strategy.

A firm would need to demonstrate that in offering a variation under forbearance it is acting fairly and in accordance with a customer’s best interests (Principle 6, MCOB 2.5A), and that the change is appropriate to the customer’s individual circumstances.

Implications of forbearance arrangements

Firms must give customers adequate information to understand the implications of any proposed arrangement (MCOB 13.3.4AR(2), TSG paras 4.7 and 5.29-5.30). Firms should ensure they give customers timely information to enable them to understand their financial position and their options (TSG para 5.29). This could include information on the impact of deferring payments of interest or capital on the total amount payable.

Firms should ensure they are clear in their communications about the credit file implications of any forms of support they offer customers, including rescheduling or refinancing of accounts (TSG para 4.7).

Customers not requiring forbearance – but wanting to reduce their monthly payments (contract variations)

Firms may offer a range of contract variations to support borrowers who would like to reduce their monthly payments, and our rules allow this regardless of whether customers are facing payment difficulties. A firm can vary or replace an existing contract without undertaking an affordability assessment provided there is no additional borrowing or change to its terms which is likely to be material to affordability (MCOB 11.6.3R).

Interest rate switches

Many firms offer borrowers who are up to date with payments the ability to switch their interest rate. Where there are no other changes to the terms of their contract, and the interest rate change is not material to affordability, the requirement to undertake an affordability assessment will not apply (MCOB 11.6.3R).

A borrower may be switching from an expiring fixed (or otherwise incentivised) rate to a higher incentivised or fixed rate. To determine whether this change would be material to affordability (and therefore whether the requirement to undertake an affordability assessment will apply) firms can compare the proposed new rate to the rate the customer would pay if not for the change – such as any standard variable rate (SVR) that would apply once the current deal expires.

Term extensions

Some customers seeking to reduce their monthly payments may want to extend the term of their mortgage. An affordability assessment will not generally be required for term extensions up to the customer’s expected retirement age if there are no other changes to the terms of the mortgage (MCOB 11.6.3R).

Where the term is extending into (or further into) retirement, it is more likely that the change would be material to affordability (see MCOB 11.6.4E), in which case an affordability assessment would be required.

Variation to interest-only

Some borrowers seeking to reduce their monthly payments may want to switch their repayment mortgage onto an interest-only basis for all or part of its remaining term.

A firm may agree to vary a contract from a repayment mortgage to an interest-only mortgage (permanently or temporarily) if it has evidence that the customer will have in place a clearly understood and credible repayment strategy (MCOB 11.6.41R).

A firm will need to undertake an affordability assessment (under MCOB 11.6.2R) and the cost to the customer of their repayment strategy must form part of this (MCOB 11.6.5R(2) and 11.6.48R). This would include situations in which the repayment strategy is for the mortgage to revert to a capital and interest repayment basis after an interest-only period.

Implications of contract variations

MCOB 7 sets out relevant disclosure requirements when making certain types of contract variations (see for example MCOB 7.6.28R when the variation would change the amount of each payment due). More generally, firms should give customers relevant and timely information to enable them to understand the implications of any variation of terms (Principles 6 and 7).

Exceptions to the requirement to provide advice

MCOB 4.1.4R(2) explains that MCOB 4 applies in relation to any form of variation of a regulated mortgage contract. These rules often require a firm to provide advice as part of an interactive sale (MCOB 4.8A), but there is greater flexibility when varying a contract. This flexibility includes:

  • variations to the mortgage contract made solely for the purposes of forbearance (MCOB 4.8A.19R) and;
  • variations not made for forbearance purposes, provided they do not involve additional borrowing and, where the change includes a rate switch, the customer is presented (via a non-interactive channel) with all products offered by the firm for which the customer is eligible (MCOB 4.8A.10R).

This means that, where appropriate, firms could provide forbearance or offer borrowers options, such as term extensions up to retirement and rate switches, at scale on an execution-only basis via digital channels, for example to meet requests for support in volume.

Next steps

The purpose of this guidance is to ensure firms are clear about the effect of our rules and the range of options they have to support their customers who are facing higher interest rates alongside other cost of living increases.

We will continue to engage with firms to monitor how they are providing the support borrowers need and the outcomes they receive. We will consider if there are further steps we can take to help firms to support their borrowers, including at scale.




Managing $20 million to $3 billion. Investing $3 million to $300 million.
For Investment Managers, Hedge Funds, Boutique Funds, Private Equity, Venture Capital, Professional Investors, Family Offices, Private Bankers & Advisors, sign up today. Subscribe to Caproasia and receive the latest news, data, insights & reports, events & programs daily at 2 pm.

Join Events & Find Services
Join Investments, Private Wealth, Family Office events in Hong Kong, Singapore, Asia-wide. Find hard-to-find $3 million to $300 million financial & investment services at The Financial Centre | TFC. Find financial, investment, private wealth, family office, real estate, luxury investments, citizenship, law firms & more.  List hard-to-find financial & private wealth services.

Have a product launch? Promote a product or service? List your service at The Financial Centre | TFC. Join interviews & editorial and be featured on Caproasia.com or join Investments, Private Wealth, Family Office events. Contact us at [email protected] or [email protected]

Caproasia.com | The leading source of data, research, information & resource for financial professionals, investment managers, professional investors, family offices & advisors to institutions, billionaires, UHNWs & HNWs. Covering capital markets, investments and private wealth in Asia. How do you invest $3 million to $300 million? How do you manage $20 million to $3 billion of assets?



Quick Links


2021 Data Release
2020 List of Private Banks in Hong Kong
2020 List of Private Banks in Singapore
2020 Top 10 Largest Family Office
2020 Top 10 Largest Multi-Family Offices
2020 Report: Hong Kong Private Banks & Asset Mgmt - $4.49 Trillion
2020 Report: Singapore Asset Mgmt - $3.48 Trillion AUM


For Investors | Professionals | Executives
Latest data, reports, insights, news, events & programs
Everyday at 2 pm
Direct to your inbox
Save 2 to 8 hours per week. Organised for success

Register Below

For CEOs, Heads, Senior Management, Market Heads, Desk Heads, Financial Professionals, Investment Managers, Asset Managers, Fund Managers, Hedge Funds, Boutique Funds, Analysts, Advisors, Wealth Managers, Private Bankers, Family Offices, Investment Bankers, Private Equity, Institutional Investors, Professional Investors

Get Ahead in 60 Seconds. Join 10,000 +
Save 2 to 8 hours weekly. Organised for Success.

Sign Up / Register


    InvestorProfessionalFamily OfficeExecutive


    SubscriptionMembershipEvents


    Professional InvestorPrivate WealthFamily OfficePrivate BankingWealth ManagementInvestmentsAlternativesPrivate MarketsCapital MarketsESG & SICEO & EntrepreneursTax, Legal & RisksHNW & UHNWs Insights










    Web links may be disabled on mobile for security.
    Please click on desktop.










    Caproasia Users

    • Manage $20 million to $3 billion of assets
    • Invest $3 million to $300 million
    • Advise institutions, billionaires, UHNWs & HNWs

    Caproasia Platforms | 11,000 Investors & Advisors

    Monthly Roundtable & Networking

    Family Office Programs

    The 2024 Investment Day

    • March 2024 - Hong Kong
    • March 2024 - Singapore
    • June 2024 - Hong Kong
    • June 2024 - Singapore
    • Sept 2024 - Hong Kong
    • Sept 2024 - Singapore
    • Visit: The Investment Day | Register: Click here

    Caproasia Summits

    Contact Us

    For Enquiries, Membership
    [email protected], [email protected]

    For Listing, Subscription
    [email protected], [email protected]

    For Press Release, send to:
    [email protected]

    For Events & Webinars
    [email protected]

    For Media Kit, Advertising, Sponsorships, Partnerships
    [email protected]

    For Research, Data, Surveys, Reports
    [email protected]

    For General Enquiries
    [email protected]





    Caproasia | Driving the future of Asia
    a financial information technology co.
    since 2014




    Previous articleUnited States SEC Fines $136 Billion World Largest Telco AT&T $6.25 Million for Disclosing Material Information of Lower Revenue Forecast to Analysts, Investor Relations Team Made 1-On-1 Call with Analysts in 20 Firms
    Next articleUnited States SEC Charged Venture Capital Firm Vika Ventures & Founders for Fraud, Sold $6 Million of Highly Sought-After IPO Securities to 46 Investors & Spent Millions on Private Jets, Expensive Watches & Lavish Travel
    Caproasia.com covering capital markets, investments and private wealth in Asia. Our users manage, advise & invest $25 trillion assets in Asia