1
Oct
Sale and rent back regulations 'could strangle innovation'
New product regulations proposed by the Financial Services
Authority (FSA) risk strangling innovation and competition, one
property expert has asserted.
Robert Sinclair, a director at the Association of Mortgage
Intermediaries (AMA), said that the regulatory structure governing
the property market ought to balance the need to protect consumers
from unaffordable debt with their desire to buy a home of their
own.
His comments follow an announcement by the FSA that it has set out
a package of measures aimed at protecting vulnerable consumers in
the sale and rent back market.
"It is essential that regulatory interventions are both well timed
and reflect a full understanding of their long-term impact on the
market," stated Mr Sinclair.
He added that the AMA is concerned that high-profile failures in
other countries and sectors brought about by certain business
models will provoke the FSA into acting.
Few things undermine market confidence faster than regulatory
change driven by politics, he continued.
