Platform ? the intermediary lending part of the Co-operative Bank ? revealed that it will withdraw from the self-certification by the end of the week, after the Financial Services Authority?s recent review of the mortgage market, Telegraph.co.uk reported.
Self-cert loans are favoured by those who cannot provide payslips to confirm their income, like self-employed people. The FSA?s mortgage review proposed income of all mortgage applicants would be verified by lenders, under a new system that would see providers make sure that loans were affordable. Though the new rules won?t come into force until next year, it spells the end for self-cert mortgages.
David Tweedy, Platform?s managing director, said: ?The FSA?s review has shown that continuing to offer self-certification mortgages in their current format is unfeasible. After careful deliberation of the review, Platform has now taken the decision to withdraw from the self-certification market.?
He added: ?We understand the FSA?s concerns around income verification and fully support its aims to improve transparency in the industry. However, we continue to believe that the industry must recognise that self-employed people can have different circumstances and may not always be able to provide the normal proof of income documentation required.?
Mr Tweedy continued to say: ?As a lender that prides itself on financial inclusion, Platform remains committed to supporting self-employed people and will now work with the sector with a view to developing a new product that meets the FSA?s guidelines. All our existing self-certification customers will not be affected by our withdrawal from the market on November 6, and their accounts will continue to run as normal.?
Mainstream mortgage products are Platform?s specialty with the company offering a variety of fixed rate and tracker mortgages via intermediaries. Less than 20 per cent of the business is represented by specialist lending.
