The FSA has banned Northern Ireland mortgage broker Noel Heaney, trading as Heaney Finance, after identifying wide-ranging management and control problems across his business and for failing to treat his customers fairly.

The regulator concluded that Heaney lacks integrity and is not competent to run an authorised firm.

Heaney entrusted the running of his business to an inexperienced employee and did not ensure that his advisers received adequate training and support. Having delegated so much responsibility to another person however, he failed to put in place management information that could have helped him be informed about the business being conducted in his name.

Another consequence of the weak controls was that he exposed his business to the risk of being used by third parties to commit mortgage fraud.

Heaney also failed to take remedial action identified by two compliance consultants and the FSA, and he did not have in place a complaint handling procedure.

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