Mick Meaney

RINF Alternative News

Thousands of British homeowners could be at risk of losing their homes as a result of potential widespread mis-selling of ‘interest-only’ mortgages, it has emerged today.

A report from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has found that around 2.6 million ‘interest-only’ mortgage’s are due for repayment over the next 30 years, with one in 10 people having no plan to repay the loan.

It’s thought that banks failed to inform approximately 13% of borrowers that they would need to repay an average debt of £50,000 once their mortgage has ended.

Now the FCA, together with the mainstream media, are attempting to shift blame onto homeowners, citing the need for a ‘wake up call’.

FCA chief executive Martin Wheatley said:

“By acting now we are aiming to nip this problem in the bud. “Mortgage lenders have volunteered to contact their most at-risk customers with a ‘wake-up call’ to highlight the report’s findings and what they need to do without delay.”

Yes of course Marty, we can always trust the banks to do the right thing – recent history has shown us that, right? </sarcasm>

So let’s take a look at that history, specifically the organisation who published the report – which is little more than the re-branding of the Financial Services Authority (FSA).

The FCA was created in 2013 as part of a new regulatory structure along with the Bank of England, after the FSA was abolished.

Now, the FSA has a troublesome track record when it comes to finance. It also has a history of protecting companies that have been found guilty of mis-selling.

Before we delve into the nitty-gritty, in December 2012 Andrew Bailey of the FSA warned that “banks are too big to prosecute” and that:

“It would be a very destabilising issue. It’s another version of too important to fail. “Because of the confidence issue with banks, a major criminal indictment, which we haven’t seen and I’m not saying we are going to see… this is not an ordinary criminal indictment.”