Ten years after the MMR reshaped the mortgage landscape, the FCA is once again retooling the rules — but this time, the focus is speed, flexibility, and consumer empowerment.
In 2014, the Mortgage Market Review (MMR) was introduced to tackle a clear problem: reckless lending practices that had contributed to the financial crisis. The result was a regulatory overhaul that prioritised affordability, stress testing, and tighter scrutiny. While the intentions were sound — and many of the safeguards necessary — the changes also brought with them a significant side effect: friction.
Over the past decade, those of us working in mortgages have seen the consequences of that friction play out daily. Delays, dropouts, and a remortgaging process that feels harder than it should. For consumers facing major life changes, trying to access advice, or simply seeking a better deal in a rising rate environment, the journey has too often felt confusing and slow.
That’s why the FCA’s latest move to ease some of this burden is both timely and welcome.
The regulator has signalled that it wants to reduce unnecessary barriers, particularly for customers looking to remortgage or adjust their mortgage term. This could mean easier access to competitive rates, simpler product switches, and a clearer path for consumers trying to take control of their financial future — all without compromising on protection.
At Movera, we fully support this shift. But more importantly, we believe this marks a fundamental turning point in how change is driven in our industry.
Unlike the MMR, which was top-down and prescriptive, the FCA’s current approach embraces market-led innovation. It encourages collaboration, flexibility, and accountability — recognising that sustainable progress comes not just from rules, but from responsibility.
And that’s a responsibility we are ready to take.
We welcome a regulatory environment where the onus is placed on us — lenders, brokers, conveyancers, and tech providers — to step up, lead, and shape better outcomes. Rather than pointing fingers, we look first to ourselves: how can we remove our own bottlenecks, streamline journeys, and provide more adaptable, accessible options for customers navigating complex circumstances?
Whether it’s someone managing affordability challenges, going through a major life change, or just trying to move home without unnecessary stress, we have a duty to design services that meet them where they are.
This is where responsible innovation comes in. It’s not about cutting corners or creating risk — it’s about harnessing data, tech, and insight to deliver smarter, faster, more personalised support. It’s about combining compliance with compassion. And it’s about working together — as an industry — to put customer outcomes ahead of siloed processes or legacy mindsets.
We’re already exploring how to embed these principles into everything we do. We’re building partnerships across the market, investing in technology that reduces delays, and championing flexibility — because we know that no two journeys are the same.
Ultimately, if MMR was about rebuilding trust after the crisis, the FCA’s current reforms are about releasing potential. They signal belief in an industry that’s mature enough to lead — but only if we’re bold enough to take ownership.
The pendulum is swinging back — not towards deregulation, but towards shared responsibility. The question is no longer “what will the regulator do?” but “what can we do better?”
Let’s make the most of the opportunity.
Warren Martin is director of operations at ONP Solicitors, part of Movera
