Looking for a competitive mortgage deal? You could go straight to the high street

[Legal Beagles]

Brokers are losing out as banks offer tie-in deals, writes Lisa Bachelor

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[argentarius]

Re: Looking for a competitive mortgage deal? You could go straight to the high street

Whilst the second part of this quote:

Melanie Bien of brokers SPF agrees. 'You will only be advised on the products that the lender has on offer by someone who is not a qualified financial adviser,' she says, adding that customers will be very lucky if their lender can offer them products that are the most suitable for their needs.

is doubtless true, the first part is not. It's ludicrous to suggest that banks do not have trained and qualified financial advisers. I hope that Melanie Bien has been mis-quoted, and isn't simply stating something which is clearly untrue.

[madbutterfly]

Re: Looking for a competitive mortgage deal? You could go straight to the high street

Wouldn't they mean that a broker has to be qualified and registered with the FSA, wheras if you approach the branch you could just get someone who is only internally trained and does not have the same strict criteria as a IFA? Also it would not be someone who could advise on the whole of the market, just what they can offer in their own brands?

[argentarius]

Re: Looking for a competitive mortgage deal? You could go straight to the high street

Oh, absolutely, the benefit of an IFA is that in theory they can advise on the whole of the market (although, in practice, some do not advise on the whole of the market and even those who state that they advise on the whole of the market are allowed to actually advise on less than the whole market due to dodgy regulatory definitions).

I don't pretend to understand all the ins and outs of regulatory approval. But many bank employees will hold externally validated qualifications, just as IFA staff do.