The Lending Standards Board (LSB) has published a report on its thematic review of vulnerable customers. It includes a desk-top review of the policies and procedures employed at 15 subscribers to the Lending Code for identifying and subsequently managing customers with mental health problems and those classed more widely as vulnerable. In the main, the LSB found that the participants had policies and procedures in place to cater for such customers but improvements could be made.

The report outlines the key findings of the review, which cover the following areas:

  • training;
  • controls;
  • monitoring;
  • recording sensitive information;
  • management information – further enhancements could be made in this area such as more formal methods of reporting; and
  • audit and compliance reviews – one of the recommendations for this area was that more formal review work on the effectiveness of controls relating to vulnerable customers should be undertaken by second and third lines of defence.

View Themed review of vulnerable customers, 7 February 2014