Network chief banned over supervision of ARs

The chief executive of mortgage network Premier has been banned after the FSA said the firm’s “remote” relationship with its appointed representatives (ARs) exposed consumers to poor advice and allowed criminal activity to go unchecked.

According to the regulator, Steven Moorley's poor directorship of Premier Network Group, which went into administration in May, meant it was unaware some ARs had been removed from lender panels for submitting false applications.

Moorley, who has avoided a £30,000 penalty because it threatened his solvency status, has been told he can no longer perform the functions of chief executive and ‘apportionment and oversight'.

Premier announced in January it was no longer accepting new business from its ARs and, four months later, applied for insolvency. A proposed deal which would have seen dozens of Premier's ARs switch to network giant Sesame fell through in February.

The FSA also says Premier, which once boasted as many as 43 ARs, held no appropriate documentary evidence of advisers' qualifications and had also stopped holding quarterly meetings with its member firms.

Additionally, it says Premier failed to record the right dates complaints were received or closed and that at least one complaint went unrecorded altogether.

"Senior management of authorised networks are responsible for the quality and integrity of financial advice conducted in their names," FSA director of enforcement Margaret Cole says.

"This case highlights the risks posed by limited control and oversight of ARs. Moorley's conduct was particularly serious because it exposed customers to the risk of receiving unsuitable advice and allowed the network to be used by some of its ARs to submit fraudulent mortgage applications."

For more information on this case, read the official FSA report here.