Secure Trust Bank Conveyancing Panel Information

The Council of Mortgage Lender requirements of Secure Trust Bank are silent on this. Most mortgage companies deal with the issue of file retention via their Terms of panel appointment where they generally provide that for evidential purposes, the firm must keep the file for a minimum six years from the date of the mortgage. Data imagining is normally suitable compliance with this requirement. Many lenders point out in that it is the practice of some fraudsters to demand the conveyancing file on completion in order to destroy evidence that may later be used against them. It is therefore important to retain these documents to protect Secure Trust Bank’s interest. To be absolutely sure of Secure Trust Bank requirements in this regard please check the Terms and Conditions of Secure Trust Bank’s conveyancing panel acceptance.

One might ordinarily expect Secure Trust Bank via their Part Two requirements to address this but the Handbook is silent on deadlines to send deeds. Do look at the Terms of Secure Trust Bank’s Conveyancing Panel Appointment that you are bound by. For a number of banks these Terms include a clause along the following lines: ‘To keep us informed of the reasons for any delay in your being able to send the title deeds and documents we require to us within 3 months of completion or evidence of proof of registration within that period. (We will send reminders if the deeds have not been received but will not acknowledge receipt of deeds’ It is imperative to keep Secure Trust Bank updated. Law firms can often compound their problems by not communicating with the lender when there is a delay or problem.

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 Secure Trust Bank as at todays date. If you're about to receive instructions from a client on a buy to let purchase with a mortgage from Secure Trust Bank we suggest that you call Secure Trust Bank to check the position.

What you should do largely depends on the reason that your firm has been removed off the Secure Trust 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 Secure Trust Bank conveyancing panel.

Your insurance brokers are your best port of call to address this question. The chances are that on the basis that you have not been removed for fraud or negligence reasons that there will be little or no impact. The main reason why a firm would be removed off of a lender panel is due to low volume of conveyancing cases although there may be a number of criteria for Secure Trust Bank solicitor panel membership. Please remember that it is always important that you complete your insurance forms accurately.

You should get in touch with Secure Trust Bank to obtain standard documents. The CML Handbook contains an explicit question for banks to enumerate who to contact to obtain standard documents. Secure Trust Bank in their Part 2’s state: It is likely that you will need to disclose the firm’s Secure Trust Bank conveyancing panel number.