News & Insights
We cover hot news stories and give our honest opinion on developments, risks and opportunities.
Our news stories can be in the form of e-shots, ‘white papers’ or social media commentary, but we will not comment on trivial matters – you will not see us mentioning on what type of coffee we are drinking whilst waiting for a train! You can catch up on our previous commentaries below.
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Have regulators started to tear down barriers?
It’s nearly 6 months since the Chancellor challenged key regulators to ‘tear down the regulatory barriers’ that hold back economic growth. This week however, both the PRA and FCA used…

We are heading back to Global ABS – let’s meet up!
We’re thrilled to announce that Rockstead will be returning to Global ABS in Barcelona this June—and this time, we’re bringing 10 of our finest team members to make sure we…

Transitional Risk and EPCs
Even though it is a reasonably recent category, transitional risk is going to be a significant issue for lenders, servicers or holders of buy to let mortgage assets.

Horizon scanning for risk managers
Regulators often remind firms that they are expected to learn from all their outputs, so risk manager horizon scanning should not be limited to regulator rules and updates. Their scanning…

Managing risks in a light touch world
We have seen several market cycles and in most cases regulation and regulators are seen as followers, tightening regulation after an event - ‘after the horse has bolted’ if you…

The FCA continues to drive for consumer protection
The FCA final guidance (FG24/2) has just come into force, replacing and building on the earlier Covid Tailored Support Guidance, and further protecting the ongoing needs of borrowers in financial…

The fines keep coming….
Less than a month ago we wrote about the ‘cost of non-compliance’ exceeding £1bn for poor arrears handling, through FCA fines and redress. Since then, we have seen yet another…

FCA fines approach £1bn for arrears breaches
Following the most recent FCA lender fine, conversations with our business partners have been ‘off the scale.’ Everyone is shocked that collection teams are still getting it so wrong. FCA…

SRT and Basel 3.1 – are you ready?
We are often asked by our clients to comment on market trends and movements. Significant Risk Transfer [‘SRT’] is currently dominating our conversations, and much of our work, especially our…

Niche lenders, back in the driving seat?
The UK lending market is in the grip of a seismic shift, driven by significant M&A activity, choices being made by laggards in the digital transformation race and the regulatory…

Mortgage Charter Independent Oversight
The FCA has released its first report analysing the impact of the Mortgage Charter. Launched exactly a year ago, the Charter received some negative industry comment, with a number of…

FCA complaints – a worsening picture
Increasing numbers of complaints, and the lack of real resolution by firms, is not new news, but regulators are becoming impatient for change. After years of TCF and more recently…

Another FCA warning shot
The most recent FCA ‘strategy letter’ on consumer lending is one of the most detailed we have seen, and it focuses on three portfolios; high-cost lending, mainstream consumer credit lending…

Regulators warnings on debt collection
A quartet of regulators, FCA, Ofgem, Ofwat and Ofcom have recently reaffirmed their joint commitment to increasing standards in debt collection activities. Their update comes as part of Debt Awareness…

Closed books and Consumer Duty
In a recent speech, the FCA warned firms to focus on providing fair value in closed mortgage books, defined as mortgages that were sold before 31 July 2023 and that…

UK RMBS is alive and well
We have noticed recent trade press commentary stating “UK RMBS is back”. Clearly positive news, but in our view, it has never been ‘away’. To be clear, when commenting on…