The anticipated directory of mortgage brokers, which was first announced in last year’s Mortgage Market Study Interim Report, will take at least a further year to deliver, according to AMI chief executive Robert Sinclair, and is unlikely to include any complaints data.

Speaking at the Financial Services Expo (FSE) Manchester, Sinclair emphasised that the original thinking behind such a directory to “allow customers to see who the best brokers are versus the worst” was not possible.

In this year’s Mortgages Market Final Report, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) outlined how it had changed its thinking and, instead, the Money and Pensions Service (MPS) would add a mortgage adviser directory to its current retirement adviser directory.

During the conference, Sinclair said: “That is going to take over a year [to deliver] because the data that falls into that has to come from the new FCA register and the new FCA directory will be a directory of all the people authorised to sell mortgages in the UK.

“Until that is built and delivered, you can’t draw it out into the MPS system in order to get the [mortgage adviser directory] delivered. So, there’s a long lead time on this. But we will get there.”

While listing what features and drop-down information the directory would include, such as the services advisers provide, the product/sectors they work within and how they provide that service, Sinclair highlighted that there would not be any specific complaint data detailed on the directory. However, he noted they will be asked: “Do you have some form of tracking service that monitors your performance – Google perhaps or other analytics – that allows customers to feedback on your service?”

Sinclair also pointed out a number of market issues that advisers needed to be aware of in order to protect their business levels and their proposition.

He cited the increased use of five-year fixes and how this potentially meant advisers wouldn’t see their customers for a long time and that this could impact considerably on income levels in 2020/21.

He also warned advisers not to contact lenders pretending to be their clients, adding: “Lenders have a problem with advisers impersonating their clients.

“It’s fine if the customer is with you and you have their authority, and it’s all done through a process where it’s validated, but please don’t ring a lender on your mobile, pretending to be your customer. People have been found out, and lost – not just their place on the panel – but their jobs from advisory firms. And rightly so. Do the job properly because that’s the way the customer gets best value, the lender gets best value, and you get the right terms at the back end of it,” he concluded.

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