Car Insurers Debate Over Future Profits

UK car insurers have been running an unprofitable business for 14 years. Independent market analysts, Datamonitor, say 2009 looks to be a profitable year despite the doubts

March 13, 2008

Budget Report Expectations

Chancellor Darling's Budget Report is expected to raise taxes on alcohol, fuel emissions, flights and many other issues concerning the economy. Tax burdens expected to increase on poorer families

March 12, 2008

Card Fraud Rises Again

Card fraud has increased over past year. Whilst chip and PIN technology has been successful in the UK, criminal activity overseas has increased 77 per cent

March 12, 2008

Tax Cuts Needed To Restore Confidence

Appeals for corporate tax cuts are submitted to the Treasury as it prepares its Budget report this Wednesday. Business and banking sectors are worried about the direction of the UK economy

March 10, 2008

First Time Buyers Take Hit From Stamp Duty

Stamp duty tax has not kept up with the rate of increase in house price inflation over the past decade. Yet another hurdle first-time buyers must leap over to get on the property ladder

March 10, 2008

Read all Finance News

FSA To Stamp Down On Mortgage Fraud

The Financial Services Authority has said that 2008 will be a 'big year' for stamping down on the widespread problem of mortgage fraud.

The crackdown warning issued by the FSA comes in response to claims that brokers have been falsifying incomes on mortgage applications. The regulator believes fraud is a growing concern within the industry and says it will step up its measures to root out fraudsters.

The FSA has said it is already in the process of investigating over 200 cases with many more to be brought to their attention in the coming months.

But despite plans to take action against fraudulent cases, the FSA has been criticised for its slow response.

Former compliance director for Home & Country Mortgages, Mike Inkley, said that on various occasions the FSA took up to four months to respond to files bearing false claims that he had submitted. He believes that more action needs to be taken when it comes to checking incomes, particularly with self-cert mortgage applications.

He remarked, "There is currently a big loophole in the industry where many lenders do not check references on loans of 65% LTV or less. I think it would be prudent for lenders to check all references and to ask for a tax reference number on applications forms. These steps would probably result in considerably less fraud."

In response to enforcement timeframes an FSA spokesman said:

"We receive a great number of cases but our enforcement resources are finite. Unfortunately, if a big case comes up then some smaller cases might have attention diverted away from them."

Overall, mortgage brokers have welcomed the FSA's crackdown plan believing it will have a positive impact in preventing fraudulent brokers from submitting false income details and thus gaining unfair advantage.

However, many brokers are insisting mortgage fraud is isolated to a small number of brokers who fail to respect both the law and their clients.

Published on February 26, 2008

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