Secure Trust Bank Conveyancing Lender Panel Compliance Tool

Lexsure’s COMPLETIONmonitor is an online pre- and post-completion checklist for property lawyers. Supported by the CML and professional indemnity insures. COMPLETIONmonitor is a unique risk mitigation tool.

This system assists the way you can prove to lender panels that you are, and can remain fully compliant with their instructions, with automatic updates on Secure Trust Bank’s changes. While utilising the tool is not a condition for acceptance on the Secure Trust Bank panel, demonstrating you can remain up to date with Secure Trust Bank’s Handbook requirements is an excellent support to your application to their lender panel and, just as importantly, safeguard your firm’s panel standing.

COMPLETIONmonitor creates real-time alerts, automatically produces compliance and CQS reports, and will improve your firm's efficiency. It is also simply to use, cost-effective and, for many firms, leads to a PII saving.

Find a Law Firm approved by Secure Trust Bank

Mortgage companies often change their requirements. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements from Secure Trust Bank are not guidelines, they are instructions from a client. As with many clients, instructions can change - and they do change, over time:

A Timeline of Policy Changes


Since 2008, Secure Trust Bank has made 3 revisions or additions to sections of their version of the CML Handbook.
That equates to a section change every 910.0 days. In total, 1% of the sections of P2 of the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Secure Trust Bank have been changed since 15/12/2008.

To find out more about lender panel compliance,

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Recent Changes Include

# Date Assoc. Changes Related To
6.7.1 07/11/2018 CML
New Build Conveyancing
Secure Trust Bank PLC approved conveyancer requirements for New Build Conveyancing : Home Warranty Schemes
7.3 15/10/2018 CML
Occupiers at the Property
Secure Trust Bank PLC approved conveyancer requirements for adult occupiers : Do Secure Trust Bank PLC require a consent to mortgage from all occupants aged 17 or over
6.7.1 18/06/2018 CML
New Build Conveyancing
Secure Trust Bank PLC panel conveyancer requirements for New Build Conveyancing : Home Warranty Schemes

Last update 10/09/2019

FAQs for the Secure Trust Bank Conveyancing Panel from members of the public

For what reasons could a firm of solicitors be excluded from the Secure Trust Bank solicitor panel?
According to a recent survey report by the solicitors regulator three quarters of law firms had been removed from a lender panel. The most common reasons in order are :
  1. lack of transactions
  2. the lawyer is a sole practitioner
  3. as part of the HSBC panel reduction
  4. regulatory contact by SRA
  5. accidental removal. We are not aware of the specific or common criteria for removal by Secure Trust Bank
My lawyer has discovered a difference when comparing the assumptions in Secure Trust Bank’s valuation survey and what is in the legal papers for the property. My lawyer says that as he is on the Secure Trust Bank conveyancing panel he must ensure that the bank is OK with this discrepancy and is content go ahead. Is my solicitor’s approach right?
A precondition to being on the Secure Trust Bank approved panel is to comply with the CML Handbook requirements (last updated for this lender on Secure Trust Bank) which do require that your lawyer disclose any incorrect assumptions in the lender’s valuation report and the legal papers. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.
I see that you have a search directory identifying firms on the Secure Trust Bank conveyancing panel. Do firms pay you a referral fee if I appoint them for my own conveyancing?
We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the Secure Trust Bank conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to the any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint.
I was expecting to move into my first house yesterday. My solicitor is on the Secure Trust Bank conveyancing panel but has moved offices in the past couple of months and had not informed Secure Trust Bank of their new address. Secure Trust Bank is now refusing to release my funds as the information from the solicitors isn't correct.
This is as unusual as it is unlucky. Most lender Terms of Conveyancing Panel Appointment specifically oblige the solicitor to inform the lender of an address change. Your solicitor needs to treat this with the utmost urgency. Do speak with or register your concern with the senior partner (assuming he or she is not your direct lawyer). Most lenders would be reasonable in this situation and expedite the resolution of this issue. It may be prudent to enlist the help of your local Secure Trust Bank branch or your mortgage broker to see if they can help.
When it comes to mortgage companies such as Secure Trust Bank do lawyers have to be pay a fee to be on the conveyancing panel?
We are not aware of any lender fees to be on their panel although some do charge an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.
The mortgage over my property is with Secure Trust Bank. Conveyancing has been completed 12 months ago. Should I wish to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Secure Trust Bank?
You must advise Secure Trust Bank before letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Secure Trust Bank’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Secure Trust Bank will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Secure Trust Bank directly. You need not do this via a Secure Trust Bank conveyancing panel firm.
My offer on house has been accepted, the seller does however have a dependent purchase. The vendors have offered on somewhere, but not been accepted yet, and have viewings of other properties booked. My conveyancing solicitor has been instructed. What should be my next step? When should I get the mortgage app going with Secure Trust Bank?
It is usual to have concerns where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket too early (mortgage application is approx £1k, then survey/valuation, conveyancing search costs, etc). First you should check that your solicitor is on the Secure Trust Bank conveyancing panel. As to the next stages this very much depends on the circumstances of your case, desire for this property and on the state of the market. In a hot mortgage some buyers would pally for the mortgage with Secure Trust Bank and pay for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they pay their solicitor to press on with searches.