The rising trend towards lenders paying procuration fees to mortgage advisers for retained mortgage business is likely to continue, said John Coffield of Paradigm Mortgages at yesterday’s panel debate which took place at FSE Cardiff.

“The move towards retention procuration fees is building up a head of steam,” said Coffield. “I think we may look back at this in two years’ time and wonder what all the fuss was about. We are certainly past the point of no return with a growing number of lenders paying for this business.”

However, Ian Andrew of Nationwide Building Society – a lender that does not pay proc fees for retention business – said it would not be changing its stance anytime soon. “We don’t have the technology at the moment to do it,” he said. The functionality has not been built.”

When one attendee suggested they could invoice the lender for their retention proc fee, Andrew, responded that, “It’s not as simple as that.”