selfregulation
services. It also exposes the public to the risk of
advance fee scams.
You can and should self-regulate by saying
"no" to this type of activity.
Education
Education is the other way we can all impact
suitability. Education ensures that registrants
meet, and continue to meet, a base level of
proficiency.
We recognize that broker education needs
some updating here in B.C. It needs to be more
practical and in our view, more focused on
getting the right regulatory outcomes.
We are partnering with the industry, with
MBIBC in particular, on improving broker
education in B.C. and this will be a priority for
us in the year ahead.
However, it's not just up to us. A self-
regulated industry takes an active interest
in continually improving its education
and invests in both an individual and at
an industry level because it equates a high
standard of education with a high standard of
performance and integrity.
Other financial products
Another trend we have our eye on is brokers
venturing into other areas of financial advice.
is is a natural outcome of your success.
You have developed a client base that trusts
you and when you are in the process of taking
a mortgage application you learn enough
about them to assist them with other
financial decisions.
It's also a natural extension of low
margins. As lenders' margins are squeezed
so are commissions and it gets tougher to
earn the same income on the same volume
of business.
So just as lenders are looking for other
sources of revenue, so are brokers. And so
we see some creative vertical integration. We
see brokers in the business of investments,
retirement planning and even insurance.
You need to be very, very careful.
MortgageBroker mbabc.ca spring 2015 | 19
There is no more
important ingredient
in the health and
success of your
business than public
confidence, so a
good regulator filters
every decision he or
she makes through
the lens of public
confidence.
–Carolyn Rogers
