Metro Bank Conveyancing Panel Information

The criteria to join the Metro Bank conveyancing panel is likely to be fairly detailed and is unlikely to include signing up to LENDERmonitor alerts.

The concern here is if you are expect to enter into ‘more onerous’ conditions that than the Handbook obligations. You have to try and take an objective view as to whether the Terms relating to the Metro Bank conveyancing appointment (or other terms for other lenders) are ‘more onerous’ than the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook Conditions. Depending on the Terms you may need to provide details on your renewal form. If you are in any doubt please call your broker to discuss before moving forward on this question.

You will be aware of the trend in recent years for lenders such as Metro Bank to take a much more pro-active approach in relation to the management and make up of their conveyancer panels. The knock on effect of this is that it is more likely that there will be a higher number of cases where a conveyancer is not on the Metro Bank panel. The situation that you find yourself in is where your client’s purchaser has his/her own lawyer and Metro Bank have appointed a separate lawyer to act on their behalf where the new CML Part 3 requirements apply. Section 11.1 of the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook Part 3 requires Metro Bank’s panel solicitor to ‘ ...transfer the mortgage advance directly to the Seller’s conveyancer. The Seller’s conveyancer must be required to hold the mortgage advance on the terms of the required undertaking. The example borrower’s conveyancer’s undertaking letter includes a specific example of the seller’s undertaking’. You should expect to be advised to received the mortgage advance directly from the conveyancing solicitors for Metro Bank. You will no doubt be required to undertake directly to Metro Bank’s solicitors to discharge any charges secured on the property and to send directly to them the executed transfer and any other documents required to enable us to effect registration. Please remember to carefully consider undertakings in accordance with your firm’s protocol and record them in your undertakings logg. Please remember that as well as this breach of this undertaking having regulatory and compliance implications it’s breach could also result in your firm being removed off the Metro Bank conveyancing panel.

You have a number of obligations in this regard which you need to follow if you wish to comply with your lender client’s instructions as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook. First, You must take reasonable steps to verify that there are no discrepancies between the description of the property as valued and the title and other documents which a reasonably competent conveyancer should obtain, and, if there are, you must tell Metro Bank immediately. (II) You should take reasonable steps to verify that the assumptions stated by the valuer about the title (for example, its tenure, easements, boundaries and restrictions on its use) in the valuation and as stated in Metro Bank’s mortgage offer are correct. If they are not, please let Metro Bank know as soon as possible as it will be necessary for Metro Bank to check with the valuer whether the valuation needs to be revised. Metro Bank conveyancing panel solicitors are not expected to assume the role of valuer. Metro Bank are simply trying to ensure that the valuer has valued the property based on correct information. (c) Metro Bank recommend that you should advise the borrower that there may be defects in the property which are not revealed by the inspection carried out by their valuer and there may be omissions or inaccuracies in the report which do not matter to them as a lender but which would matter to the borrower. Metro Bank recommend that, if we send a copy of a valuation report that Metro Bank have obtained, you should also advise the borrower that the borrower should not rely on the report in deciding whether to proceed with the purchase and that he obtains his own more detailed report on the condition and value of the property, based on a fuller inspection such as a homebuyers report or comprehensive survey. If you do not receive a copy of the valuation you can always ask for a copy of one from Metro Bank or the borrower. You still need to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook Requirement relating to valuation reports even if you don't receive one directly. Failure to comply not only runs the risk of facing a claim by the lender but also being removed from the Metro Bank conveyancing panel

The Law Society’s CQS membership gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless the CML have indicated that it is likely to become a prerequisite for firms wishing to join their approved list of firms. Some Lenders now use the Conveyancing Quality Scheme accreditation as the starting point for Panel membership as is the case with Santander.

You should contact Metro Bank to obtain standard documents. The The Council of Mortgage Lenders Handbook incorporates a specific section for lenders to set out who to contact to obtain standard documents. Metro Bank in their Part 2’s state: Don’t forget to quote the firm’s Metro Bank conveyancing panel reference.