The Law Society and HSBC announced today an agreement whereby
HSBC will amend its conveyancing approach to enable all solicitors
accredited with the Law Society's Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS)
home-buying quality mark to act for HSBC as well as its mortgage
customers.
Previously only firms on HSBC's managed panel of conveyancers
were able to act for both the borrower and the lender, with all
other firms able to act for the borrower only. The new arrangement
will be introduced in August 2012.
All CQS firms will be able to act for HSBC and for the borrower.
From the outset, CQS-accredited sole practitioners will be able to
handle all cases with mortgage values up to 150,000. The Law
Society and HSBC will continue to work together to raise this value
for CQS sole practitioners.
Recognising the merit in some of the different requirements HSBC
currently has for its panel, the Law Society has invited HSBC to
assist it in further developing the CQS assessment scheme so that
it becomes the automatic requirement for a firm to join a mortgage
lenders conveyancing panel. HSBC has suggested the Law Society
consider inviting other mortgage lenders to assist the Law Society
in this respect, a proposal the Society was delighted to
accept.
Martijn van der Heijden, Head of Lending at HSBC commented 'We
introduced our panel in January to provide additional protection
for both our customers and the bank. We listened to feedback from
customers and solicitors, and through working with the Law Society
can now agree to more solicitors acting for us while also managing
our risks and maintaining the unique benefits of using one of our
panel solicitors.
'We are committed to helping our home-buying customers and have
set aside 15 billion to lend in residential mortgages this
year.'
Law Society Chief Executive Desmond Hudson said: 'With this move
HSBC is demonstrating its commitment to putting customers first as
well as its confidence in the CQS scheme. The bank has been
constructive in working with the Law Society, in designing this
solution. As well as giving its customers a much wider choice of
solicitor that can also act for HSBC, it has aligned itself further
with the CQS and the high standards the scheme represents.
'The Law Society and its members have campaigned for this change
in the interests of solicitors' home-buying clients since HSBC
introduced its original panel. HSBC's willingness to engage with us
has helped secure a good outcome for their mortgage customers, our
CQS members and the house buying public.'
Under the new system, HSBC mortgage customers will have three
options when appointing a solicitor or conveyancer.
Option 1 ('the managed panel') will be using one of the current
managed panel firms: conveyancers who can act for the bank and the
borrower and who have signed up to offeringfixed fees and other
guarantees including no sale, no fee.
Option 2 will be to use CQS members who are not on the managed
panel. CQS members will not be obliged to commit to the fees set by
the bank, or purchase a technology link to the Bank's panel
manager.
The third option remains available for borrowers who wish to
choose another firm of solicitors or conveyancers not in the two
options above. In this instance, as was previously the case, the
borrower will pay 160+VAT for a panel firm to complete the
legal work required by HSBC.
Ends