New national database for disciplined mortgage brokers

If your client is looking for a mortgage broker, make sure her first stop is the new national database of disciplined mortgage brokers.

Read: What should your clients do with their ‘mortgage gap’ money?

The database was developed by the Mortgage Broker Regulators’ Council of Canada (MBRCC), and integrates disciplinary records from most provincial regulators, says an MBRCC release, so clients can find out if mortgage brokers have broken the rules that govern their profession.

When clients enter a mortgage broker’s name or company into the database, they can see disciplinary actions, such as licence suspensions, administrative penalties and cease and desist orders, that have been taken against a broker by their provincial mortgage regulator and other Canadian regulators.

The database is an example of the move toward greater consumer protection and regulatory harmonization, as exemplified by the Ontario Ministry of Finance and its forthcoming measures, such as introducing a new financial regulator and harmonizing regulation across Ontario’s various bodies.

And, last year, an award-winning investigative story by Advisor.ca revealed a regulatory gap where banned IIROC and MFDA reps can remain licensed insurance brokers.

Read: Advisor’s Edge wins CFA Society Toronto awards

More than 23,000 mortgage brokers are licensed across Canada, and disciplinary actions will be posted on the database for varying amounts of time, matching how long each regulator posts records in its own province, says the MBRCC in the release.

The organization suggest clients still visit their provincial regulators’ websites to get licence status information for mortgage brokers authorized to operate in the respective provinces.

Also read:

Explain CMHC’s mortgage loan premium hikes to homebuyers

Staff

The staff of Advisor.ca have been covering news for financial advisors since 1998.