BSA opposes FSA's proposals

The Financial Services Authority's (FSA) latest proposals will limit building societies' lending by restricting competition, according to the Building Societies Association (BSA).

Bernard Clarke, spokesperson at mortgage lending industry specialist the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), said that FSA regulations which aim to restrict the capacity of building societies to lend will do so by "uniquely fettering their ability to compete".

His comments follow the release of an official BSA response to the plans, which claimed that they could restrict the lending of buy-to-let and high loan-to-value mortgages for borrowers with small deposits.

"We don't want unnecessary constraints on the capacity to lend at a time when everybody identifies a common problem of there being a shortage of mortgage funding," stated Mr Clarke.

He added that it is inappropriate for there to be a separate measure which could affect lending for building societies, because the FSA is already undertaking a comprehensive mortgage market review