Mortgage Broker Compliance Consultants

Mortgage Advisory & Arrangement Services

Understanding the difference between advisory and non-advisory mortgage services

How MEMA Supports Mortgage Brokers

End-to-end support from authorisation through ongoing compliance

What Mortgage Broker Compliance Involves

FCA compliance for mortgage brokers is governed principally by the Mortgage Conduct of Business sourcebook (MCOB), overlaid by Consumer Duty and the Senior Managers and Certification Regime. Here is what staying compliant involves in practice.

1. Advice, suitability and affordability

Most mortgage sales are advised, which means a personal recommendation that must be suitable for the customer's needs and circumstances under MCOB 4. Firms must assess affordability, evidence the basis for each recommendation, and keep suitability records that stand up to FCA review.

2. Disclosure and Consumer Duty

Customers must receive clear, timely disclosure, including the European Standardised Information Sheet (ESIS). Under Consumer Duty, firms also have to show that customers receive fair value and good outcomes, not simply that the MCOB process was followed. We help brokers evidence their fair value assessments and consumer-understanding obligations.

3. Governance, permissions and reporting

Mortgage firms must hold the right permissions, meet their SMCR obligations, run compliant financial promotions, handle complaints under DISP, and submit accurate regulatory returns. Our consultants build the compliance framework and provide ongoing oversight so these obligations are met continuously, not just at the point of authorisation.

Managing Your Mortgage Permissions

Understanding and maintaining the right FCA permissions for your business model

MCOB Compliance Requirements

Navigating the Mortgages and Home Finance: Conduct of Business sourcebook

Key Mortgage Broking Compliance Requirements

What the FCA expects, and the evidence behind it.

• Permission scope

  Map advice, arranging and mortgage activities.

• Advice standards

  Review suitability, recommendations and records.

• Customer support

  Test communications, vulnerability and outcomes.

• Monitoring

  Create file review, MI and remedial action.

What you will need to produce

• Mortgage permissions and service model
• Advice and suitability framework
• Customer documentation and disclosures
• File review, monitoring and MI

The Mortgage Broking Compliance journey

The route from scoping your permissions to a decision. The FCA's part of it is fixed; the preparation before it is where applications are won or lost.

1. 1Confirm your home-finance permissionsAdvising and arranging are separate, and first charge, second charge, buy-to-let and later-life lending each change the permission you need.
   • Establish which home-finance activities you carry on
   • Confirm the product types your permission has to cover
   • Weigh direct authorisation against appointed representative status
2. 2Build the advice and suitability frameworkA mortgage application is assessed on whether advice can be shown to be suitable, so the file has to hold the reasoning and not only the outcome.
   • Build the advice process and suitability evidence
   • Prepare customer documentation and disclosures
   • Set up file review and the management information behind it
3. 3Submit to FCASubmitted through the FCA's Connect portal with the application fee of £2,820.
   • Complete submission through Connect
   • Application fee paid at submission
   • Case officer assigned by the FCA
4. 4FCA reviewThe statutory determination period is 6–12 months — six months for a complete application, twelve if it is incomplete when submitted.
   • Case officer raises questions on the submission
   • Further information requests answered and evidenced
   • Weak responses, not complexity, are the common cause of delay
5. 5Permission grantedPermission is granted and the firm can carry on the regulated activity, subject to any requirements attached to it.
   • Permission recorded on the Financial Services Register
   • Any limitations or requirements confirmed
   • Reporting and supervision obligations begin

Related FCA Guidance

Deeper reading on the regulatory framework behind mortgage broking.

Sectors We Support

This service is available for firms across these regulated sectors

• Mortgage Advisers