MortgagesMar 14 2023

Knowledge Bank launches consumer duty tool 

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Knowledge Bank launches consumer duty tool 
(Anna Nekrashevich/Pexels)

Knowledge Bank has launched a tool to help brokers and lenders meet consumer duty standards. 

The tool is designed to help identify borrower vulnerability and will highlight underserved areas within lending policy and the wider market. 

Knowledge Bank chief executive, Nicola Firth said this element of the consumer duty is one of the most challenging aspects as it is open to a degree of interpretation and is not confined to a particular group or type of borrower. 

“Any borrower could potentially fall into the category of being ‘vulnerable’ and this tool will help filter results and expose the transient nature of vulnerability due to life events,” Firth explained. 

“Because of the unique way in which Knowledge Bank handles lender’s policy we are able to denote which of these may indicate a vulnerable situation for the customer which is either permanent or temporary. Using this information, lenders and brokers can consider their appropriate response to meet the standards required.”

Knowledge Bank subscribers will be prompted that additional questions or care may be needed with certain cases, with this also highlighted on the brokers ‘evidence of research’ document as part of their compliance file. 

Lenders will also have the ability to analyse the data to see the prevalence and frequency of searches in these categories and maintain a record of their responses, which will give them a unique view of underserved areas of the market. 

“We have worked closely with our lender, network and mortgage club partners to really understand what tools they need to ensure that the new rules are made as easy as possible to navigate,” Firth said. 

"The clock is ticking on consumer duty coming into force and so we have worked hard to have the tools in place now so that both brokers and lenders are well served and provided for.” 

Brokers are expected to be compliant with the consumer duty by the end of July this year. 

However, some in the industry have said they felt unsupported by the regulator in their preparation. 

Yesterday, the initial results of a survey by Panacea Adviser suggested that only 4 per cent of the 187 respondents so far believe the Financial Conduct Authority’s guidance has been sufficient. 

jane.matthews@ft.com