The Intermediary – January 2026 - Flipbook - Page 17
Q&A
from decisions that take income away from them.
Lenders, or the regulator, may not love hearing
criticism, but the good ones respect facts. I don’t
lob insults about, and I always try to give credit
where it’s due. Being a large network, we have
a great relationship with lenders, who have
some amazing people working within them, who
absolutely support advisers and advice.
I also think that, on big issues, having some grey
hairs or just more than 10 or 15 years’ experience
in this market matters a lot. We remember when
lenders have tried things in the past which didn’t
work. When we see the same mistakes being
made by those who don’t have that experience, it’s
important to call it out.
On this, I try to be clear about what is happening
and why it matters. Many lenders, even when they
disagree, will at least engage. As for the regulator,
if anything I’d hope they would appreciate that
advisers who speak up are trying to protect
consumers. That is supposed to be the whole
point.
How important is it to push issues
directly to those in charge of
regulation?
Incredibly important. Most advisers in this country
will never be in a room with the FCA’s chief
executive Nikhil Rathi. If you get the chance to
raise an issue, you should take it. Frankly, parts of
his recent speech really worried me.
It felt like the regulator was showing a kind of
collective amnesia. Consumer Duty only came
in a couple of years back and has clearly been a
resounding success due to the good outcomes
outlined by the regulator.
It put advisers under more pressure to explore
wider client needs. That all made sense because
advisers are the only regulated contact most
consumers will ever have. Most people do not
have an IFA. Yet very quickly the tone has shifted.
We now see the removal of the advice interaction
trigger. We see the FCA sounding relaxed about
lenders using tech solutions or AI to capture
direct business, as if that is on the same level as
regulated advice.
Nikhil said they had shown their Discussion
Paper (DP) to the big banks before publishing
it. That is maddening. Adviser reps did not get
an early look, banks did. No wonder there were
worrying elements. Add in a Government that
has held mortgage round-tables with banks and
building societies but no adviser voices, and you
start to worry. The FCA’s own figures say advisers
On the positive side, the
year showed strong demand
from first-time buyers. After
the debacle in the lead up
to last year’s Budget, with
so much gossip which never
came to fruition, at least we
have certainty now and that
allows people who have been
waiting to act”
account for around 90% of new business, and half
the adult population shows a sign of vulnerability.
Positively, the FCA’s recent roadmap does
appear to recognise the folly of some of the
proposals posited in the DP, such as enhanced
advice, and the like. If it is truly supportive of
delivering holistic advice, then I am supportive of
that commitment.
How it goes about doing this, and what it might
be comfortable with lenders doing direct via AI and
the like, is another thing entirely though.
Last year, Apple itself found “fundamental
limitations” in AI models; the BBC found that 45%
of AI queries produced wrong answers, with AI
systems being described as “dangerously selfconfident” – the regulator should take this into
account when determining just what AI can, or
rather, cannot do.
What were the positives and
negatives in 2025?
On the positive side, the year showed strong
demand from first-time buyers. After the debacle
in the lead up to last year’s Budget, with so much
gossip which never came to fruition, at least we
have certainty now and that allows people who
have been waiting to act.
BBR cuts, and decent swap rate levels, have
meant lenders have been in the market with better
pricing as the year has gone on, and even with
bumps in the data, rate cuts are still expected.
That has helped confidence.
Another positive is that, despite some of the
language, I feel advisers have grown stronger. →
January 2026 | The Intermediary
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