Buy-to-let frauds cost Chelsea £41m

Chelsea Building Society has been lambasted by its industry body and the financial regulator for claiming that losses from fraudulent mortgages are multiplying across the sector. The embattled lender took a £41 million hit after unearthing a massive fraud on its buy-to-let and self-certification loan book. In an apparent move to deflect criticism over its internal controls, interim boss Stuart Bernau claimed that many lenders were facing hefty losses from illegally obtained loans. But the Building Societies Association was quick to counter his claim that lax risk management was endemic throughout the industry. BSA secretary general Adrian Coles said: ‘I can categorically state that no other society is exposed to mortgage fraud on this scale.