• About the FSA
  • What we do
    • Fighting financial crime
      • Fraud
        • Key issues
          • Mortgage fraud
            • More detail on the initiatives

Our approach to tackling mortgage fraud

Mortgage fraud has been perpetrated on a large scale in recent years. Easy credit conditions and streamlined application processes have prompted fraudsters to target the mortgage sector. We know that mortgage fraud causes substantial social harm and can be bound up with other forms of criminality such as money laundering and people trafficking, and so it is crucial that firms remain vigilant.

On Tuesday 22 July we wrote to the key trade bodies, CML, IMLA, AMI, BBA and BSA, setting out our approach to toughen the industry’s defences against mortgage fraud and to make it harder for organised mortgage fraudsters to get away with their crimes. 

The key elements of our approach are:

1. Targeted visits to 200 mortgage intermediaries to assess their systems and controls;
   
2. Increasing intelligence received from lenders by streamlining reporting processes and providing more clarity on the information needed;
3. Enhancing the way intelligence is used in supervising firms and bringing about enforcement actions;
4. Strengthening engagement with regulators and law enforcement partners including the National Fraud Strategic Authority (NFSA);
5. Encouraging improved information sharing and intelligence analysis in the industry; and
6. Reviewing the Approved Persons regime as it relates to mortgage intermediaries including brokers.

You can find out more about our approach on the more details on our initiatives page.

This follows our recent successes in identifying and prohibiting intermediaries who have been implicated in mortgage fraud. This year we have banned 17 individuals, including a £129,000 fine, for their part in mortgage fraud.