Mortgage Strategy reports:
The Financial Services Authority is urging lenders to blow the whistle on rogue brokers as it strives to stamp out mortgage fraud.
In an exclusive interview with Mortgage Strategy, Philip Robinson, director of the financial crime and intelligence division at the FSA, says he wants the industry to back its efforts through an information-sharing programme including solicitors, surveyors, lenders and brokers.
Robinson says: "We've been talking about the FSA's Fighting Fraud in Partnership initiative for years and we need the industry to further engage with fraud prevention."
And as Mortgage Strategy Online exclusively revealed last week, over 200 brokers are under suspicion of being involved in mortgage fraud.
Robinson attributes the success of its investigation so far to its existing Information from Lenders project. He claims that some of the 200 names are likely to be released this week, with more to follow in the coming months. Robinson says that details of six firms with over 30 cases of fraud between them have been referred to the police for criminal investigation.
He also queries the lack of industry support in tackling mortgage fraud at the Council of Mortgage Lenders' conference on the subject in London last week.
He says: "The first step is to ask those lenders who haven't yet taken part in the Information from Lenders project, why not? I know they've voiced concerns about not getting feedback from the FSA and that's something we are committed to improving.
"Sharing intelligence is the way forward. The more participants, the stronger the intelligence and the better the results."
Attorney-general Patricia Scotland adds: "Retaining confidence and credibility in the mortgage industry is essential for the economy and for those seeking to buy and sell property."
