Mortgage broker banned for TCF failings

The FSA has banned a mortgage broker for “wide-ranging management and control problems” and breaching TCF rules.

It says Noel Heaney, of Northern Ireland-based Heaney Finance, lacks integrity and is not competent to run an authorised firm.

Sole trader Heaney entrusted the running of his business to a junior employee without ensuring his advisers received adequate training and support, it says.

Having delegated so much responsibility however, he failed to regularly monitor the running of his business.

The FSA ruled such weak management controls meant Heaney exposed his business to the risk of abuse by third parties seeking to commit mortgage fraud.

Heaney also failed to act on reccommendations from two compliance consultants and the FSA, and had no complaint handling procedure.

Margaret Cole, FSA director of enforcement and financial crime, says: "This is a blatant example of a businessman taking insufficient interest in the conduct of business written in his name and ignoring repeated warnings about its deficiencies.

"Put simply, Heaney failed to treat his customers fairly and we are holding him to account for it."

The FSA's Final Notice for Heaney can be found here.