Clydesdale Bank Conveyancing Panel Information

There are many reports available, five of which are as follows:

• Buy to Let transactions
• Average time frame to send deeds to the lender (calculated from completion date or title registration)
• Average mortgage advance
• Disclosure/Notification to Lender analysis indicating frequency and nature of disclosures - to include benchmarking analysis against aggregate data
• Current and historic missed priority dates

The answer to this question really depends on the reason that your firm has been removed off the Clydesdale Bank 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 Clydesdale Bank conveyancing panel.

During 2013, 92 sections of the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook P2 were changed by Clydesdale Bank. Some changes are more important than others but as a firm on the Clydesdale Bank conveyancing panel you are of course obliged to comply with individual lender requirements, as set out in Part II of the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook. Locktons have recently pointed out in an article that non-compliance with Part 2 requirements account for a number of high value claims, and it is therefore important to be aware of any particularly onerous terms that an individual lender may impose.

Remember: CML requirements are not guidelines; they are the lender client’s instructions.

For most lenders participation on the lender's panel of conveyancers is at the absolute discretion of the the lender. Many lenders reserve the right to accept or reject any application without giving any reason. You should check your original application to join the Clydesdale Bank conveyancing panel to see if you are entitled to a reason.

We would recommend that you supply 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 firm’s application but gives the Law Society a complete picture of what has gone on.

You would be advised to contact Clydesdale Bank to obtain standard documents. The The Council of Mortgage Lenders Handbook incorporates a specific question for banks to establish who to contact to obtain standard documents. Clydesdale Bank in their Part 2’s state: Please remember to disclose your Clydesdale Bank solicitors panel number.