The MCOB mortgage suitability report: what a good one includes

The suitability report is where you evidence that a mortgage recommendation is right for the client under MCOB. Like the protection Demands & Needs letter, it has to show the reasoning, not just the outcome, and it has to be clear enough that the client could genuinely follow it.

The core sections

• The client's objectives and circumstances: what they are trying to do and why now.
• Affordability and the evidence behind it, including how the recommendation fits income and outgoings.
• The recommendation: lender, product, rate type and term, with the reasoning for each choice.
• Term rationale, especially where the term runs into retirement or is longer/shorter than standard.
• Rate type reasoning (fixed vs variable) against the client's need for certainty.
• Any debt consolidation, spelled out with the trade-offs of securing unsecured debt.
• Fees, costs and the key trade-offs the client accepted.

Where mortgage files commonly fall short

1. Term into retirement is recommended but the affordability in retirement is not evidenced.
2. Debt consolidation is arranged without clearly explaining the cost of securing previously unsecured debt over a longer term.
3. The rate-type choice is stated but not justified against the client's need for payment certainty.
4. Vulnerability is flagged but the support provided is not recorded.

Drafting it faster

NeedsIQ Mortgage takes an MCOB fact-find and drafts the suitability report with these sections already in place, including a structured debt-consolidation rationale and a one-click protection cross-sell where a need is identified. You review, tailor and sign off; the tool removes the blank page and the risk of missing a section under time pressure.

NeedsIQ drafts for adviser review and sign-off. It does not source products or give regulated advice; the adviser chooses the recommendation and remains responsible for the file.