Brokers and Bankers

Well, it’s Friday before the Thanksgiving weekend and what better time to have a little rant! I just came across this article which covers a topic that is near and dear to my heart: Bankers calling themselves Mortgage Brokers. To be fair, Bankers aren’t the only ones to blame. I’ve heard many Realtors and consumers talk about their “broker” when in fact they are speaking about a bank employee. Some bank employees specialize in mortgages only and work from home and on the road. Just because they don’t work in a bank branch doesn’t make them a mortgage broker! They are simply road reps for the bank.
I think it is very important to label things correctly. Mortgage Brokers and Bankers are two very different things. Bankers are employees of the institution they work for. They can only sell mortgage products from their particular institution and they are not licensed by a regulating body. Mortgage Brokers and Associates, on the other hand, actually act as a broker in a transaction. They work with more than one institution and are able to set up mortgages at a variety of institutions. Mortgage Brokers and Associates are regulated by provincial licensing bodies and the only individuals that are allowed to “broker” a mortgage are individuals that are licensed! In Alberta, the licensing body that regulates Realtors, Mortgage Brokers and Associates as well as property Appraisers is RECA.
Please read the article below for more information! (This article is written with a BC perspective but a lot of the information pertains to Alberta as well).

http://www.straight.com/article-351517/vancouver/whats-difference-between-mortgage-broker-and-road-rep