Ahli United Bank Conveyancing Panel Information

Ahli United Bank’s answer to this question can be found at section 6.4.4 of their CML Part 2 requirements

The Council of Mortgage Lenders is not a regulator and therefore will not investigate grievances against lenders. You can of course contact Lexsure to see if we can assist.

In operating open conveyancing panels, lenders such as Ahli United Bank face a number of fraud and negligence risks. While there is no authoritative source of data on lender exposure to solicitor–led mortgage fraud, anecdotal evidence from lenders indicates exposure on individual cases are often in the millions of pounds. The National Fraud Authority estimates that £1bn per year is lost in mortgage -related frauds in total, which is seen as a conservative estimate.

These risks are exacerbated by the lack of a comprehensive set of data on all conveyancing firms (which, for the avoidance of doubt, would include solicitors and conveyancers across the UK) which is in a readily accessible format. Currently, lenders vet the suitability of their panel firms against a variety of disparate, incomplete and potentially inaccurate sets of information. One top 5 lender pointed out to us that it is almost impossible to track individual fraudsters who move from firm to firm, especially where they are no longer registered or no longer hold a valid practicing certificate.

Ahli United Bank and other lenders are in varying stages of reviewing their approach to vetting firms on their conveyancing panels, to ensure their ongoing exposure to unsuitable firms is reduced. There is also regulatory impetus on lenders to ensure that they have satisfactory oversight of their third party panels, including a due-diligence process.

It would be advisable to provide details of the date of removal, information on the reason for removal, date of appeal and any reason given for reinstatement. This should not adversely impact your application but gives the Law Society a complete picture of what has occured.

You should communicate with Ahli United Bank to obtain standard documents. The CML Handbook includes an express section for lenders to cite who to contact to obtain standard documents. Ahli United Bank in their Part 2’s state: Please remember to disclose the firm’s Ahli United Bank solicitors panel reference.