Professional Practice Update - April 2018 HSBC adopts open conveyancing panel for Scottish law firms

HSBC has completed its project to extend membership of its conveyancing panel to allow all firms regulated by the Society to apply for panel membership for purchase transactions in Scotland.

HSBC has recognised that customers prefer where possible to use a conveyancer of their own choice and any Scottish firm that has registered and been accepted onto the bank’s LMS panel can now act for both customer and HSBC in all HSBC purchase cases.

HSBC has worked with Legal Marketing Services Ltd (LMS) to manage their wider transactional conveyancing panel. The bank has used LMS as their re-mortgage panel manager for nearly ten years and this further alliance will consolidate LMS as HSBC’s sole panel manager going forward.

We are very pleased that HSBC has listened to feedback from customers and our member law firms and has adopted an open panel approach for purchase cases across all jurisdictions, while ensuring that it is in line with FCA guidance.

The basic requirement for a law firm in Scotland to become or remain a member of the panel is that the firm is regulated by the Law Society of Scotland. Firms will be asked to provide additional information in order to be confirmed as panel members. LMS will provide further detail of the on-boarding process directly to firms.

HSBC will implement the criteria below for firms to be able to act for them: