Barclays plc Conveyancing Panel Information

There are many reports available, five of which are as follows:

• Buy to Let transactions
• Average time frame to send deeds to the lender (calculated from completion date or title registration)
• Disclosure/Notification to Lender analysis indicating frequency and nature of disclosures - to include benchmarking analysis against aggregate data
• Average mortgage advance
• Average time frame to register charges at the Land Registry

In the same way that there is a unique Barclays plc conveyancing panel most building societies, operate a conveyancing panel for solicitors and other conveyancers that the lender will instruct. Terms and Conditions and criteria for inclusion on a building society conveyancing panel vary from lender-to-lender. Having CQS accreditation may be a requirement. Institutional lenders, such as a building society, is a client and is entitled to instruct the solicitor or conveyancer of its choosing (who, in turn, is free to accept or refuse instructions). Therefore, if lender and borrower cannot agree which solicitor or conveyancer should represent them jointly, they would usually proceed on a separate representation basis. The BSA have not published the equivalent of the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook Part 3s.

During 2013, 74 sections of the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook P2 were changed by Barclays plc. Some changes are more important than others but as a firm on the Barclays plc conveyancing panel you are of course obliged to comply with individual lender requirements, as set out in Part II of the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook. Locktons have recently pointed out in an article that non-compliance with Part 2 requirements account for a number of high value claims, and it is therefore important to be aware of any particularly onerous terms that an individual lender may impose.

Remember: CML requirements are not guidelines; they are the lender client’s instructions.

When a solicitor is acting for both Barclays plc and borrower there is potential for conflicts to arise. You owe duties to both clients. All information received by you from your client is confidential and cannot be disclosed without the client’s consent. In the situation you find yourself in if the purchaser will not consent to the information being passed on to the lender the solicitor must cease to act for the Barclays plc and it may well be prudent you to cease to act for the purchaser as well. You can not tell the Barclays plc the reason for termination of the retainer over and above the fact that a conflict has arisen. The fact that you can no longer act should alert even the most somnambulistic of lenders that something is wrong with the borrower and/or purchase. The fact that you have disinstructed yourself should not affect your Barclays plc conveyancing panel status.

CQS accreditation gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a prerequisite for firms wishing to join their approved list of firms. A number of mortgage companies now use the scheme as the starting point for Panel acceptance as is the case with HSBC.

You would be advised to communicate with Barclays plc to obtain standard documents. The The Council of Mortgage Lenders Handbook contains an explicit inquiry for banks to cite who to contact to obtain standard documents. Barclays plc in their Part 2’s state: It helps to disclose the firm’s Barclays plc conveyancing panel reference.