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Allied Irish Bank Solicitor Panel: Recently Asked Questions
Can my firm register a complaint to the Council of Mortgage Lenders about being suspended from the Allied Irish Bank conveyancing panel?
The Council of Mortgage Lenders is not a regulator and therefore will not advise on grievances against lenders. You can of course contact Lexsure to see if we can help.
Allied Irish Bank wants me to act for them alone on a residential conveyancing matter , using the CML Lender’s Handbook. The borrower has his own solicitor (not on the
Allied Irish Bank conveyancing panel) How will this operate and are there different requirements from Allied Irish Bank in this circumstance?
The Council of Mortgage Lenders, along with
Allied Irish Bank and other members developed a standard set of instructions where a conveyancer is representing a lender such as Allied Irish Bank alone in a residential conveyancing transaction.
These obligations are contained at Part III of the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook and are to be read together with Part I and II.
The CML have published an example requirements letter to the borrower’s lawyer for adaptation by the lender's conveyancer, and sets out to the borrower's conveyancer, the documentary and information requirements of the lender's panel lawyer.
A recent SRA survey reveals that 76% of
solicitors have been removed from a lender conveyancing panel. Allied Irish Bank and other lenders have restricted their panel over
the years. Why?
In operating open conveyancing panels, lenders such as Allied Irish 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.
Allied Irish 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.
In carrying out leasehold due diligence do
Allied Irish Bank panel solicitors need to consider if there is an insolvent landlord?
Given that your practice in is on the
Allied Irish Bank conveyancing panel and you are instructed by them in relation to a leasehold property, you must report to them if it becomes apparent that the landlord is either absent or insolvent. If
Allied Irish Bank are to lend, they may require indemnity insurance. In any event,you will need to check
Allied Irish Bank’s specific requirements. Notwithstanding whether
Allied Irish Bank will lend in such circumstances you still need to advise the borrower (unless you are acting for
Allied Irish Bank alone) as to the risks of buying a property with an insolvent or absentee landlord.
My conveyancing assistant has resigned unexpectedly.
I urgently need to prioritise making sure that charges are registered. That said, how quickly do I need to send deeds to
Allied Irish Bank once the charge is registered before my firm runs the risk of being suspended off the conveyancing panel for Allied Irish Bank?
Allied Irish Bank will likely expect the deeds to be sent to them within 10 days of you receiving the TID (unless their specific P2 requirements specifically state that they you are not to send them anything). Most COTs refer to complying with the Certificate of Title referred to in IB (3.7) of the SRA Code of Conduct 2011, published by the Law Society which states that you ‘will despatch to you such deeds and documents relating to the Property as you require with a list of them in the form prescribed by you within ten working days of receipt by us of the title information document from the Land Registry’ As to whether the lender will suspend your panel status this very much varies according to the lender’s own internal policies The more cases you have the more risk you face. Some lenders may take action if there records show that the deeds are outstanding for more than 3 matters. The fact is that if you keep within the time frame then you will have more chance of remaining on the
Allied Irish Bank conveyancing panel.
Marsh’s PII renewal form questions if my practice had been excluded from any bank panels in the last 12 months.
I just became aware that the firm is no longer on the
Allied Irish Bank conveyancing panel? Will that effect my insurance?
The best placed professionals to answer this question are your insurance brokers.
The chances are that on the basis that you have not been removed for
fraud or negligence reasons that there will be little or no
impact. The main reason why a firm would be removed off of a lender
panel is due to low volume of conveyancing cases although there may be
a number of criteria for Allied Irish Bank solicitor panel
membership. Please remember that it is always important that you
complete your insurance forms accurately.
I am on the
Allied Irish Bank
conveyancing panel and scheduled to complete a remortgage shortly. My file does not contain a Mortgage Deed for the client to execute.
Who do I contact at Allied Irish Bank to obtain duplicate documents?
You would be advised to communicate with Allied Irish Bank
to obtain standard documents. The CML Handbook includes a specific question for lenders to reveal who to contact to obtain standard documents.
Allied Irish Bank in their Part 2’s state:
Don’t forget to quote your Allied Irish Bank conveyancing panel number.
Find a Lawyer on the Allied Irish Bank Conveyancing Panel
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Average number of days to register title including a charge in favour of Allied Irish Bank
This information relates to purchase only and not remortgages.
| Year | Days* |
|---|---|
| 2025 | [no data] |
| 2024 | [no data] |
| 2023 | [no data] |
| 2022 | [no data] |
| 2021 | [no data] |
| 2020 | [no data] |
* Data aggregated from sources including COMPLETIONmonitor
Other related topics:
- CQS policy templates and procedures for accredited Allied Irish Bank Firms
- Draft Report on Title precedent for Allied Irish Bank borrowers
- Draft Anti Money Laundering PolicyTemplate for Allied Irish Bank panel firms to consider
- Dealing with Lender Policy Template panel for CQS accredited firms on the Allied Irish Bank lender panel
- Buy-to-Let help for Allied Irish Bank
- Consent-to-Let help for Allied Irish Bank
- Contractor Mortgages with Allied Irish Bank
