National Westminster Bank Conveyancing Panel Information

The Council of Licensed Conveyancers has entered dialogue with banks and their representative bodies to see whether and how the risks that lenders wish to mitigate could be addressed through the regulatory framework rather than via ad hoc arrangements that can differ from lender to lender. We expect that that the CLC have been in touch with lenders such as National Westminster Bank as well as the CML.

What you should do largely depends on the reason that your firm has been removed off the National Westminster Bank conveyancing panel. The top 3 reasons are as follows:

1. lack of transactions
2. the lawyer is a sole practitioner
3. as part of the HSBC panel reduction.

In these three circumstances it is unlikely that you would expected to take any action. Disclosure and other compliance considerations are more likely to be relevant if the reason for removal is due to breaches of lender requirements or allegations of fraud or negligence. Whether the reasoning should trigger a disclosable 'material' breach will depend on the firm and the circumstances around possible failures to comply with the SRA Authorisation Rules, and the SRA will judge each case on its own merits. Factors such as the detriment or risk of detriment to clients, the scale of the issue and overall impact on the firm will need to be considered in deciding whether a failure is 'material'. As the compliance officer you will need systems to identify patterns of breaches. Even if you don't consider there to be regulatory implications the firms COFA should give some thought to whether she/he needs to take any action as result of being removed from the National Westminster Bank conveyancing panel.

You have a number of obligations in this regard which are to followed if you wish to comply with your lender client’s instructions as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook. (a) 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 National Westminster 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 National Westminster Bank’s mortgage offer are correct. If they are not, please let National Westminster Bank know as soon as possible as it will be necessary for National Westminster Bank to check with the valuer whether the valuation needs to be revised. National Westminster Bank conveyancing panel solicitors are not expected to assume the role of valuer. National Westminster Bank are simply trying to ensure that the valuer has valued the property based on correct information. (III) National Westminster 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. National Westminster Bank recommend that, if we send a copy of a valuation report that National Westminster 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 National Westminster 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 National Westminster Bank conveyancing panel

CQS membership 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 panels. A number of mortgage companies now use the Conveyancing Quality Scheme accreditation as the starting point for Panel membership as is the case with Santander.

You should get in touch with National Westminster Bank to obtain standard documents. The CML Handbook contains an individual inquiry for lenders to set out who to contact to obtain standard documents. National Westminster Bank in their Part 2’s state: Don’t forget to quote the firm’s National Westminster Bank conveyancing panel number.