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Royal Bank of Scotland Solicitor Panel: Recently Asked Questions
Are Royal Bank of Scotland Conveyancing panel lawyers duty bound to disclose incentives?
Royal Bank of Scotland’s answer to this question can be found at section 6.4.4 of their CML Part 2 requirements
What sort of information are Lenders such as
Royal Bank of Scotland are asking for when it comes to applying to be on their approved solicitor list?
Criteria differ from lender to lender.
We do not hold specific requirements relating to the questions raised as part of the application to be on the
Royal Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel. Typically lenders need to have full knowledge of a firm including (but not limited to):
Full complaints history for each licensed conveyancer
conveyancer client account(s) details
Whether any lender has ever made a claim against the firm’s PII cover
List of all Licensed Conveyancers within firm
The percentage of the firm’s business which is conveyancing (broken down into sale
Full career history for each licensed conveyancer including registration date with Council of Licensed Conveyancers
Number of partners per branch of the firm
Charge registration history
Structure of firm and, where applicable, its group
Whether the firm has ever accepted instructions in respect of property clubs and investment schemes
A recent SRA survey reveals that 76% of
solicitors have been removed from a lender conveyancing panel. Royal Bank of Scotland and other lenders have restricted their panel over
the years. Why?
In operating open conveyancing panels, lenders such as Royal Bank of Scotland
face a number of fraud and negligence risks. While
there is no authoritative source of data on lender exposure to
solicitor–led mortgage fraud, anecdotal evidence from lenders
indicates exposure on individual cases are often in the millions of
pounds. The National Fraud Authority estimates that £1bn per year is
lost in mortgage -related frauds in total, which is seen as a
conservative estimate.
These risks are exacerbated by the lack of a comprehensive set of data on all conveyancing firms (which, for the avoidance of doubt, would include solicitors and conveyancers across the UK) which is in a readily accessible format. Currently, lenders vet the suitability of their panel firms against a variety of disparate, incomplete and potentially inaccurate sets of information. One top 5 lender pointed out to us that it is almost impossible to track individual fraudsters who move from firm to firm, especially where they are no longer registered or no longer hold a valid practicing certificate.
Royal Bank of Scotland and other lenders are in varying stages of reviewing their approach to vetting firms on their conveyancing panels, to ensure their ongoing exposure to unsuitable firms is reduced. There is also regulatory impetus on lenders to ensure that they have satisfactory oversight of their third party panels, including a due-diligence process.
Do banks such as
Royal Bank of Scotland run an independent conveyancing panel for buy to let mortgages?
Most lenders do not operate a specific buy to let conveyancing panel but we are hearing about a few that do. We do not know what the position is with
Royal Bank of Scotland as at todays date. If you're about to receive instructions from a client on a buy to let purchase with a mortgage from
Royal Bank of Scotland we suggest that you call
Royal Bank of Scotland to check the position.
Every so often I read a LENDERmonitor email but I rarely see change of note. By way of illustration, My firm on the
Royal Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel and get an alerts simply telling me a change of address. Isn't that just noise?
It is important that you take note of such changes because sending a communication or deeds to the wrong address can cause delays that might not only affect your borrower client but also affect your ability to remain on the
Royal Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel. Is possible next month that Royal Bank of Scotland change their requirements as to where the post completion documents should be sent.
Do you update the details in your CMS? Do you make a note? Is this information passed on to secretaries and assistants? By virtue of your COT Royal Bank of Scotland you are giving assurances that you will forward the deeds within 10 days of receiving the Title Information Document. Leaving to one side whether you are technically breaching an undertaking in sending it to the wrong address, you run the risk of
Royal Bank of Scotland suspending you off the panel because they are not receiving the deeds in accordance with the COT. It will not be a valid excuse to say that you sent it to their old address.
Should CQS acceptance secure my firm’s acceptance on to lenders conveyancing panels?
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 Lenders now use the Conveyancing Quality Scheme accreditation as the starting point for Panel membership such as Santander.
I am on the
Royal Bank of Scotland
conveyancing panel and scheduled to complete a purchase shortly. I can not locate a Mortgage Deed for the client to sign.
Who do I contact at Royal Bank of Scotland to get a duplicate Deed?
You should communicate with Royal Bank of Scotland
to obtain standard documents. The The Council of Mortgage Lenders Handbook includes an express inquiry for lenders to cite who to contact to obtain standard documents.
Royal Bank of Scotland in their Part 2’s state:
It helps to quote your Royal Bank of Scotland solicitors panel reference.
Find a Lawyer on the Royal Bank of Scotland Conveyancing Panel
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Average number of days to register title including a charge in favour of Royal Bank of Scotland
This information relates to purchase only and not remortgages.
| Year | Days* |
|---|---|
| 2025 | [no data] |
| 2024 | [no data] |
| 2023 | [no data] |
| 2022 | [no data] |
| 2021 | [no data] |
| 2020 | [no data] |
* Data aggregated from sources including COMPLETIONmonitor
Other related topics:
- CQS policy templates and procedures for accredited Royal Bank of Scotland Firms
- Draft Report on Title precedent for Royal Bank of Scotland borrowers
- Draft Anti Money Laundering PolicyTemplate for Royal Bank of Scotland panel firms to consider
- Dealing with Lender Policy Template panel for CQS accredited firms on the Royal Bank of Scotland lender panel
- Buy-to-Let help for Royal Bank of Scotland
- Consent-to-Let help for Royal Bank of Scotland
- Contractor Mortgages with Royal Bank of Scotland
