Bank of Ireland Conveyancing Panel Information

The concern here is if you are expect to enter into ‘more onerous’ conditions that than the Handbook obligations. 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 completing the answer.

You will be aware of the trend in recent years for lenders such as Bank of Ireland to take a much more pro-active approach in relation to the management and make up of their conveyancer panels. The knock on effect of this is that it is more likely that there will be a higher number of cases where a conveyancer is not on the Bank of Ireland panel. The situation that you find yourself in is where your client’s purchaser has his/her own lawyer and Bank of Ireland have appointed a separate lawyer to act on their behalf where the new CML Part 3 requirements apply. Section 11.1 of the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook Part 3 requires Bank of Ireland’s panel solicitor to ‘ ...transfer the mortgage advance directly to the Seller’s conveyancer. The Seller’s conveyancer must be required to hold the mortgage advance on the terms of the required undertaking. The example borrower’s conveyancer’s undertaking letter includes a specific example of the seller’s undertaking’. You should expect to be advised to received the mortgage advance directly from the conveyancing solicitors for Bank of Ireland. You will no doubt be required to undertake directly to Bank of Ireland’s solicitors to discharge any charges secured on the property and to send directly to them the executed transfer and any other documents required to enable us to effect registration. Please remember to carefully consider undertakings in accordance with your firm’s protocol and record them in your undertakings logg. Please remember that as well as this breach of this undertaking having regulatory and compliance implications it’s breach could also result in your firm being removed off the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel.

On the basis that your firm in is on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel and you are acting for 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 Bank of Ireland are to lend, they may require indemnity insurance. In any event,you will need to check Bank of Ireland’s specific requirements. Notwithstanding whether Bank of Ireland will lend in such circumstances you still need to advise the borrower (unless you are acting for Bank of Ireland alone) as to the risks of buying a property with an insolvent or absentee landlord.

In this situation please clarify on the application what action you have taken to find out 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 cessation of your panel membership did you receive any letters or calls from the lender informing you as to why they reached this decision?

You need to communicate with Bank of Ireland to obtain standard documents. The The Council of Mortgage Lenders Handbook contains an express section for banks to establish who to contact to obtain standard documents. Bank of Ireland in their Part 2’s state: Always remember to disclose the firm’s Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel reference.