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UK: Britain’s finance watchdog checks on home loan market competition

By  |  December 12, 2016

Britain’s financial watchdog has launched a full review of the 1.3 trillion pound mortgage market to see if customers could get better deals and whether links between industry players limit choice.

The high cost of buying a home in Britain, exacerbated by a housing shortage, has put ownership out of reach for many people and the government is under pressure to address the problem.

The Financial Conduct Authority originally started looking at mortgages in October 2015 to see if there were partsof the market where competition could be improved.

“As a mortgage is likely to be the biggest financial commitment most people make in their lifetime, we’re keen to ensure that competition in the mortgage sector is healthy and working to the benefit of consumers,” Christopher Woolard, the FCA’s executive director of strategy and competition, said.

Its full review was announced on Monday.

Full Content: Reuters

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