Sainsbury's Bank Conveyancing Panel Information

During 2013, 0 sections of the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook P2 were changed by Sainsbury's Bank. Some changes are more important than others but as a firm on the Sainsbury's 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.

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

With mortgage companies and conveyancers working so closely with one another it is surprising that there has not been much call for the introduction of a bit of transparency regarding not just the figures for the Sainsbury's Bank conveyancing panel but for all bank panel listings

In the circumstances please clarify on the form what action you have taken to find out the reasons behind cancellation of your Sainsbury's Bank 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 get in touch with Sainsbury's Bank to obtain standard documents. The CML Handbook includes an explicit inquiry for banks to cite who to contact to obtain standard documents. Sainsbury's Bank in their Part 2’s state: Don’t forget to quote your Sainsbury's Bank conveyancing panel reference.