The FSA to regulate Secured Loans?

There has been a number of associations and others involved in the secured loan market who have began thinking openly and discussing the future regulation of the secured loans sector and specifically whether the Financial Services Authority (FSA) should regulate secured loans.

The secured loan market is currently regulated by the Consumer Credit Act, with firms accountable to the Office of Fair Trading, the political climate at the moment is that secured loans need to be regulated by the 'super regulator' the FSA, as it only has the infrastucture and setup to monitor the Secured Loans market.

Some secured loans operators lenders and packagers do not think that at this stage that the FSA should be regulating secured loans as the industry is self-regulating itself fairly well and above the self-regulation the consumer has the protection of Consumer Credit Act to rely on as well.

However overall the opinion is divided and it doesn't seem that we are going to get regulation in the secured loans market in the near future.