National Westminster Bank Conveyancing Panel Information

Lexsure only know of two or three banks that operate a distinct approved solicitors panel where the mortgage advance is over a certain amount. You should nevertheless check directly with National Westminster Bank. At one stage HSBC would only allow Sole practitioners to act for them where the mortgage was below £150,000. We are not sure if HSBC still operate such a condition. In your case it is best to check with National Westminster Bank

Most lenders do not operate a specific buy to let conveyancing panel but we are hearing about a few that do. We do not know what the position is with National Westminster Bank as at todays date. If you're about to receive instructions from a client on a buy to let purchase with a mortgage from National Westminster Bank we suggest that you call National Westminster Bank to check the position.

You need to be careful here as what you are proposing may not be acceptable to the mortgage company. It is possible that you (as a non-panel firm) or the mortgage applicant are not at liberty instruct a panel firm of your choice. Many lenders make it clear to their panel firms that where a non-panel member firm is instructed by one of their mortgage applicants, the lender will appoint a panel firm to carry out its instructions and to liaise with the borrower's conveyancer. You also need to make the costs implications and potential for delay very clear to your client.

You will be aware of the trend in recent years for lenders such as National Westminster Bank 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 National Westminster Bank panel. The situation that you find yourself in is where your client’s purchaser has his/her own lawyer and National Westminster Bank 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 National Westminster Bank’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 National Westminster Bank. You will no doubt be required to undertake directly to National Westminster Bank’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 National Westminster Bank conveyancing panel.

The Law Society’s CQS accreditation is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a prerequisite for firms wishing to remain on their approved list of conveyancing solicitors. A number of mortgage companies now use the Conveyancing Quality Scheme accreditation as the starting point for Panel membership such as Astra Mortgages.

You should contact National Westminster Bank to obtain standard documents. The CML Handbook includes an individual question for banks to establish who to contact to obtain standard documents. National Westminster Bank in their Part 2’s state: It is likely that you will need to quote your National Westminster Bank conveyancing panel reference.