Mortgage broker de-registered by regulator

The first mortgage broker for four years has been driven out of business as a result of full disciplinary action by the industry-backed Mortgage Code Compliance Board (MCCB).

The board announced today that it has de-registered White Rose Mortgages of Coeside, York, North Yorkshire, for refusing to allow MCCB officials to visit its offices to ensure that it met membership criteria. By de-registering, the firm has avoided paying costs totalling £11,200.

Luke March, the MCCB's chief executive, said: "The cancellation of a firm's registration is the ultimate sanction under the disciplinary process. Lenders who subscribe to the Mortgage Code, responsible for around 99 per cent of UK residential mortgage lending, undertake to accept mortgage business introduced only from intermediary firms who are registered by the Board. Accordingly, cancellation of registration effectively removes an intermediary firm from the industry."

In October next year the Financial Services Authority will take statutory responsibility for mortgages, at which point the MCCB will be wound up. Presently it represents 160 lenders and 13,000 intermediaries.