Student's killer on parole
Charges after investigation
Hostage was on captor 
Regulating power prices
Gen X is raking it in
LeBlanc laying groundwork
US vetoes UN resolution
$100M Nassar settlement
12 Trump jurors picked
Rates slow green economy
Vicinity hires president,
Record housing starts
Warriors ready for Round 2
Kalamalka Bowl cancelled
Rockets live to fight on
Rihanna's parenting ‘hack’
Tarantino scraps film
Munn talks cancer battle
Mortgage broker commissions
On January 18th I did an interview on CBC Radio Kelowna regarding the FICOM proposal for more disclosure on the Form 10 used by mortgage brokers. FICOM is asking mortgage brokers to disclose the exact amount of commission they are paid by the lender.
I, along with many mortgage brokers in the Okanagan, the Mortgage Brokers Association of BC, and the Mortgage Professionals of Canada do not support the proposed change - not because we have anything to hide, but because we don’t want to confuse our clients.
On December 14, Patti Anderson, Dean Larson, Karen Shale, April Dunn, and I met with our three MLAs, Norm Letnick, Steve Thomson, and Christy Clark’s designate, Becky Harmata.
I asked the other brokers if they had ever had a client ask them how much commission they were making on their mortgage. Not one of us had, in our combined 80 years in the industry, such a conversation with our clients. This suggests that it is not a concern to the average consumer.
We explained the proposed disclosure requirements to the MLAs, who were not aware of FICOM’s plans. The MLAs seemed concerned, and promised to speak to the appropriate ministers involved.
It is unclear what brought this issue of commission disclosure to light, as there have not been any complaints or instances of mortgage brokers not acting in the client’s best interests.
Mortgage brokers help 55% of new mortgage clients, and 30% of clients overall, according to the Bank of Canada. On average, we obtain 19 basis points off the rate that consumers would get if they applied for the mortgage on their own.
We provide choices to meet our clients needs, taking into consideration interest rate, prepayment options, and payout penalties.
In most cases, these services are free to our clients (exceptions are when we place a private mortgage or deal with a lender who does not pay us).
By disclosing our commission to our clients, there could be a perception that they are paying more to deal with us than they would if they dealt with their own bank’s sales force, who do not have to disclose the commission they are paid.
This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.
