14 MORTGAGE NEWSLETTER 15 Areas that the FCA will explore as part of expanding access to first-time buyers and underserved consumers The Regulator will be exploring further changes to the requirements to support these consumers in several areas which are detailed below: • High Loan to Income lending • Interest only lending • Variable and irregular income or assets • Credit impaired • Regulated Bridging Loans • Recognition of rental payments The FCA do not propose making any further changes to the Shared Ownership Schemes as part of these discussions. Areas that the FCA will explore as part of enhancing the later life lending market Demographics and economic change are likely to create more demand from homeowners to access their housing wealth in later life. Following on from the feedback received the FCA will continue to develop their policies which supports the market to meet future consumer demand. During 2026 they will: • Undertake a focused market study • Consider changes to the RIO framework • Explore options to support the delivery of more holistic advice These areas will need some longer lead times for debate and feedback and may push the release of any new policy statements into H2 2026 at the earliest. Enabling Innovation The Regulator wants to continue to support innovation and the adoption of new technologies to improve the customer experience and outcomes. The Open Finance TechSprint will focus on mortgages. Open Finance is a step on from Open Banking and will involve ten teams In summary, this signposts the direction of travel from the FCA for the Mortgage market in 2026. Currently there is no immediate action to take for firms. The Regulator has mentioned that they will act at pace in terms of making the market more accessible for first-time buyers and underserved consumers so Paradigm envisage a flurry of discussion papers and consultations in the first half of 2026, please factor this in to any plans you may have for your businesses. We will be contacting you with our view points and advising you on any actions you need to take as a result of these discussions. We will also be feeding back to the Regulator our own thoughts on any suggested changes through our various channels such as the APCC. from across the industry working on specific problems using technology solutions to improve the processes. The FCA’s AI Lab will allow and enable a safe testing environment using AI Live data which will give better results and will be available to lenders, who are further along in the process. Digitising the House Buying and selling process is also part of this theme. The OPDA led by Maria Harris and the MHCLG consultation on the home buying and selling reform will all be considered. This area will be on-going and the Regulator will report back on the ten teams and the outcomes they provided but this is likely to be in the latter part of 2026 and early 2027. Protecting Vulnerable clients The Regulator intends to carry on their vulnerable client protection piece and the three areas of concerns for them where more work is needed are: • Climate Risks • Economic Abuse • Debt Consolidation These three areas will be looked at in H1 and H2 2027.
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