Bank of Ireland Conveyancing Panel Information

The Council of Mortgage Lender requirements of Bank of Ireland are silent on this. Most mortgage companies address the issue of file retention via their Terms of panel appointment where they generally provide that for evidential purposes, the firm must keep the file for a minimum six years from the date of the mortgage. Data imagining is normally suitable compliance with this requirement. Many lenders point out in that it is the practice of some fraudsters to demand the conveyancing file on completion in order to destroy evidence that may later be used against them. It is therefore important to retain these documents to protect Bank of Ireland’s interest. To be absolutely sure of Bank of Ireland requirements in this regard please check the Terms and Conditions of Bank of Ireland’s conveyancing panel membership.

Criteria differ from lender to lender. We do not hold specific requirements relating to the questions raised as part of the application to be on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel. Typically lenders need to have full knowledge of a firm including (but not limited to):

List of all those who can sign off the Certificate Of Title

Whether the firm has ever knowingly accepted instructions on transactions involving Sale and Rent Back, Back to Back, Exchange and Delayed Completion and Lease Option, Below Market Value.

Whether the firm has ever accepted instructions in respect of property clubs and investment schemes

Full disciplinary history for each licensed conveyancer

List of all those who fund the firm, including non-lawyers if applicable

and Conveyancing Quality Scheme

Whether the firm has ever applied for accreditation and the outcome of the application

Whether any lender has ever made a claim against the firm’s PII cover

Full complaints history for each licensed conveyancer

Automated alerting to inform lenders when there is a fundamental change to the firm (e.g. change of management)

What you should do largely depends on the reason that your firm has been removed off the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel. The top 3 reasons are as follows:

1. lack of transactions
2. the lawyer is a sole practitioner
3. as part of the HSBC panel reduction.

In these three circumstances it is unlikely that you would expected to take any action. Disclosure and other compliance considerations are more likely to be relevant if the reason for removal is due to breaches of lender requirements or allegations of fraud or negligence. Whether the reasoning should trigger a disclosable 'material' breach will depend on the firm and the circumstances around possible failures to comply with the SRA Authorisation Rules, and the SRA will judge each case on its own merits. Factors such as the detriment or risk of detriment to clients, the scale of the issue and overall impact on the firm will need to be considered in deciding whether a failure is 'material'. As the COLP you will need systems to identify patterns of breaches. Even if you don't consider there to be regulatory implications the firms COFA should give some thought to whether she/he needs to take any action as result of being removed from the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel.

The key here is the caveat ‘more onerous’. You have to try and take an objective view as to whether the Terms relating to the Bank of Ireland conveyancing appointment (or other terms for other lenders) are ‘more onerous’ than the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook Conditions. Depending on the Terms you may need to provide details on your renewal form. If you are in any doubt please call your broker to discuss before moving forward on this question.

In the circumstances please explain on the form what steps you have taken to discover the reasons behind cancellation of your Bank of Ireland panel status. In particular please provide details if you have received communications from the lender. E.G. before revocation of your panel membership did you receive any letters or calls from the lender advising you as to their reasons?

You would be advised to get in touch with Bank of Ireland to obtain standard documents. The CML Handbook includes an explicit inquiry for banks to reveal who to contact to obtain standard documents. Bank of Ireland in their Part 2’s state: Always remember to quote the firm’s Bank of Ireland solicitors panel reference.