Embley backs ARs blocked by FSA

Some 13 of the 23 ARs were already subject to investigation by Home of Choice before the network was bought out of administration by LSL. Another 10 appointed representatives have since been delayed from reauthorisation by the FSA.

A spokeswoman for Home of Choice, now branded First Complete under LSL ownership, said that investigations into the 23 brokers were related to compliance issues and that the network was performing due diligence on these ARs.

Embley said the process of transferring ARs from the Home of Choice network to First Complete was “almost unprecedented in terms of timescale.”

Taking into account the Bank Holiday weekend at the beginning of May, Embley says the whole process took no more than three to four days.

Embley added: “LSL is working furiously with the FSA to get these issues resolved. The quality of these brokers is not the issue – we did due diligence on all Home of Choice advisers.”

Concerns had been raised that a large proportion of Home of Choice’s mortgage business was underwritten by a few major brokers, some of whom may be in the 23 still undergoing due dilligence.

Embley stressed any concerns were unfounded and said it was reasonable to expect uneven distribution patterns in networks, adding that First Complete had a good spread and he was confident that business volumes would be unaffected.