Speaking as he introduced the Mortgage Forbearance Webinars, which are being used to help firms prepare for the next phase of supporting mortgage customers through the pandemic, Jonathan Davidson (Executive Director of Supervision – Retail and Authorisations) set out the FCA’s expectation of how firms should be delivering positive outcomes for customers.
The focus comes at the point a significant number of customers will be coming to the end of an agreed payment deferral, with the FCA’s data showing that most mortgage deferrals have now expired. In the FCA’s perspective, this seemed to signal a shift in approach, with ‘crisis support’ moving towards ‘tailored support’ for the individual.
However, they have cautioned about moving headlong into ‘business as usual’ due to the absence of clarity on what the new environment looks like, acknowledging many borrowers will be facing a loss of income, over differing durations, and solutions may need to reviewed regularly as their circumstances change.
Other key areas highlighted were:
Significantly, over the coming months, the FCA will be looking at how your firms have adapted to the challenges, and the outcomes received by consumers through supervisory ‘multi-firm’ work. To assist firms in assessing whether they have met FCA expectations, FourthLine’s Consulting team has produced toolkits for both the FCA’s Temporary and Additional guidance around COVID-19 for Firms, downloadable from the following links:
DOWNLOAD: Temporary Guidance Toolkit for firms in COVID-19
DOWNLOAD: Additional Guidance Toolkit for firms in COVID-19
For any support needs you may have around meeting the FCA’s expectations around Coronavirus measures taken, feel free to contact our Consulting team: