Banking giant HSBC has denied that its conveyancing panel is closed to new firms following criticism from lawyers.

In a prepared statement, the bank today rebutted the Law Society’s claim it had gone back on a promise to offer an appeals process to firms denied entry to the panel. The Society last week accused HSBC of ‘unreasonable’ behaviour and of giving misleading information to practitioners wanting to join its panel.

A spokeswoman for the bank said it appreciated that some solicitors and conveyancing firms were ‘disappointed’ they were no longer able to work for it, but added ‘there is no reason why they should not still represent our customers’.

She said: ‘We are reviewing the panel on an ongoing basis. The panel is not closed and firms are invited to register their interest so that they can be contacted as and when opportunities arise.’

She stated there is not, and never has been, an appeals process and no firm has been removed from the panel. The bank admitted there are ‘limited’ opportunities in certain geographic regions. Wales, for example, had just one firm on the panel at launch, with a further one subsequently invited to join.

HSBC, which last year increased mortgage lending by 12% to £13.2bn and expects to increase that to £15bn this year, said customers will experience a number of benefits from using a law firm on its panel. These include 'competitive fixed fees' and: 'Free searches on your replacement purchase: If a customer paid for searches on a property that subsequently falls through, there will be no fees for the same searches on the next property if they find it within six months.'