Mortgage intermediation has recently been more stringently regulated in Europe, which presents itself as an opportunity for the whole industry with benefits for the client who now receives harmonized information all over Europe, enabling enhanced transparency and security for the client when taking out a mortgage loan. Although a challenge for banks and intermediaries, the new legislation ensures that the client is obtaining information from an informed and certified source, which can only be good for everyone!
On the 16th of June 2019, the new mortgage law, 5/2019, of March 15 (LCCI), adapted to European requirements came into force in Spain, with important changes with respect to the previous one.
The Law 5/2019, of March 15th, regulates real estate credit contracts due to the asymmetric position that the lender and the borrower occupy in the contractual relationship (which is not overcome by the simple fact of providing the client information and warnings) aims to establish a specific regime for the protection of individuals who occupy the position of borrowers, guarantor, or holders of mortgages or purchase of properties residential properties.
This law imposes transparency and behaviour obligations on credit lenders and intermediaries or their designated representatives, especially regarding the pre-contractual phase and information, as well as execution and resolution of contracts. A specific regime is established for credit intermediaries and real estate lenders and a sanctioning regime is included for breaches of obligations contained in the Law.
All financial intermediaries and lenders who engage in activities subject to regulation in the LCCI are required to obtain the necessary credentials (ICI – Informador de Credito Inmobiliario – Mortgage Loan Informer).
In order to discuss mortgage options with your clients, you must now have a Mortgage Informer Qualification (ICI), registered with the Bank of Spain. UCI was one of the first financial entities in Spain to ensure that all employees that work in departments related to the mortgage handling, such as Sales, Risk, Valuation, Administration, Aftersales, Recovery, etc. fulfil this legal obligation, and we were proud to be the first entity able to send all the information in digital format to the notaries, as established by the law, thanks to our evolved digital process platform, which has also enabled us to continue offering full service throughout the lockdown.
We would now like to offer you, as our collaborator, the possibility to obtain this certification, enabling you to find, and discuss with your clients, the best viable mortgage option, adapted to the type of property they are seeking.
The fundamental objective is to certify that Mortgage Informer graduates have adequate and up-to-date knowledge, in relation to the real estate market and the mortgage financing process, to be able to face the current regulatory demands in the field of information activity on the services provided by entities and intermediaries that grant mortgage loans.
This professional certification evaluates all the banking and financial knowledge and competencies necessary to inform and commercialize real estate loans, as well as all other services and accessory products to clients or potential clients, under the scope of the mortgage law LCCI.
If you are interested in receiving more information about how to obtain this qualification, please check the SIRA website, where we offer important discounts for you if you enrol on FEF ( Fundación de Estudios Financieros) courses, which unfortunately are only currently available in Spanish.
The general fee or 125€ is reduced to 100€ for all UCI collaborators, and further discounts are available for collaborators with a valid active collaboration agreements and for members of SIRA. You can pay as little as 20€ if you are eligible for all the discounts, which can be accumulated! All you need to do is click here:
