Grabbing the headlines

“Competition and choice under threat”; “Solicitors slam HSBC conveyancer panel”; “HSBC radical separate representation move splits market”. These are just a few of the headline comments about HSBC’s decision to reduce its conveyancing panel down from thousands of law firms to just 43 firms to cover the whole of the UK. It is, of course, understandable in today’s conveyancing climate that banks and other lending institutions wish to have greater security, but are there ways to give comfort to lenders without the need to restrict the number of firms who appear on their panels?

One of the simplest ways for solicitors to demonstrate that they are capable of looking after the interests of lenders is to ensure that the conveyancing process they use is efficient, professional and, most importantly, thorough. Most firms that deal with conveyancing (both residential and commercial) will have structures in place to deal with what is usually a fairly standard process for the purchasing, selling, and re-mortgaging of property. However, is