§ Mr. BoatengTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will outline the present system for regulating the activities of centralised mortgage lenders; and whether he will specify the total amount of mortgage lending undertaken by such bodies in the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. NelsonBecause they do not carry on a deposit-taking business, centralised mortgage lenders are not subject to regulation under the Banking Act 1987 or the Building Societies Act 1986. However, the Consumer Credit Act 1974—for which responsibility lies with my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade—and the subordinate legislation made under it provide a system of licensing and other control of traders concerned with the provision of credit. It is likely that centralised mortgage lenders will require consumer credit licences and be subject to the controls on licensing administered by the Director General of Fair Trading.
Table L9.4 in the June 1992 edition of "Financial Statistics" gives details of loans for house purchase by "miscellaneous financial institutions", the bulk of which is believed to be accounted for by centralised mortgage lenders. At end-1991, the stock of loans for house purchase by miscellaneous financial institutions totalled £25.9 billion.