The Mortgage & Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) has today expelled Accredited Mortgage Consultant, Mr Anh-Tuan Pham and the company of which he is Director, Freedom Finance & Property Group Pty Ltd, Footscray VIC, for misconduct.

The MFAA’s Disciplinary Tribunal stated, “Mr Anh-Tuan Pham of Freedom Finance & Property Group Pty Ltd engaged in dishonest conduct by manufacturing, and then submitting to a lender, income supporting documentation from a company of which he was a Director, for two individuals who were not in his employ, to enable those individuals to obtain finance.”

This conduct was contrary to clause 42 of the MFAA Code of Practice which states, “A Member must not engage in any acts or omissions of a misleading, dishonest, deceptive or fraudulent nature.”
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LJ Hooker’s financial division supports industry organization, MFAA’s move toward encouraging its members to become fully qualified professional credit advisers.

MFAA’s proposed framework of tiered professional qualifications will see brokers qualify for a Certificate IV in Financial Services.

LJ Hooker Financial Services General Manager Peter Bromley says this level of qualification is already built into the division’s performance standards for its brokers.

“All our current brokers meet Certificate IV standards, which means they complete 30 hours of CPD a year, have a conversion ratio of 65 per cent, accreditation with a panel of at least 10 lenders and settle at least six loans per quarter.
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Today’s interest rate increase is a reminder to mortgage holders to shop around if they are looking to refinance their home loan, according to the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia.

“Changes to the official interest rate can present an opportunity to borrowers to get a better deal,” said Phil Naylor, Chief Executive of the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia (MFAA).

“There are a whole range of factors above and beyond the interest rate which can determine whether a home loan suits your circumstances.

“Consumers should remember that what was the most suitable mortgage 12 months ago is not necessarily the most suitable mortgage now.
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By Jill Fraser for Lending Central

The FBA’s national president, Peter White says the AIPB is acting in “a cowboy fashion” and that its correspondence style is “flawed and unprofessional”.

The AIPB’s Maria Rigoni retorts with “I cannot accept responsibility for Peter White’s interpretation of the English language”.

The argument is centred around the AIPB’s invitation to the FBAA, the MFAA and the ABA to participate in an open industry discussion about bank ethics, which the AIPB claims is adversely impacting finance brokers.

White told Lending Central that the FBAA will not participate in the public forum that the AIPB is proposing because it sits on very shaky legal ground.

The basis of White’s response is based on the fact that the AIPB letter did not name the FBAA members that it is accusing of engaging in practices that are “unfair and have no ethical, moral or best business practice basis”.
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By Jill Fraser for Lending Central

The Australian Institute of Professional Brokers (AIPB) is relatively new on the scene but already it is demonstrating that it is willing to take on the big issues.

In an open letter dated 28 November and sent to the Chief Executive of the Australian Banking Association, David Bell, MFAA CEO Phil Naylor and the FBAA’s National President, Peter White the AIPB outlines broker grievances and seeks an open industry discussion.

The letter (see below) signed by AIPB co-founders Paul Flakus and Maria Rigoni is headed ‘Working Ethically with Finance Broker Professionals’.

Rigoni told Lending Central she believes that the only way to bring about positive change is by “bringing everything out into the open and if necessary having a tidal wave”.
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By Jill Fraser for Lending Central

The MFAA National Broker Committee is backing the push to do away with ‘quantity’ or ‘volume’ based accreditation.

The proposed new accreditation system being touted by the MFAA’s NBC and linked to the establishment of ‘professional credit advisers’, the prospective new name for MFAA broker members, is minus any volume clause.

The NBC hopes it can successfully “persuade” lenders to abort volume based accreditation criteria and utilise the criteria in its proposed ‘professional broker characteristics’ as the basis of accreditation programs.

While some lenders support this attempt to focus on quality and professionalism in the industry, it remains a contentious issue and at the moment overall lender support has yet to be mustered for the adoption of the proposal.
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Borrowers seeking to refinance their mortgage in light of recent interest rates increases have been urged to use Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) accredited mortgage brokers.

“Recent increases to interest rates may prompt consumers to shop around, but we’d encourage consumers to seek out MFAA accredited brokers,” said Phil Naylor, CEO, MFAA.

Mr Naylor said that mortgage brokers accredited through MFAA are best positioned to find the most competitive loan products for consumers from a range of lenders. They are also are held to high professional and ethical standards of conduct, experience and education which non-members are not.

“Our independent research shows that consumers are consistently more satisfied when using a broker than going directly to a lender, and borrowers with loans administered by a broker are less likely to struggle with repayments,” Mr Naylor said.
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The Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) has elected its board and office bearers following its recent Annual General Meeting and board meeting.

“This is a strong team which draws on wide-ranging experience and expertise, providing a strong platform for future advocacy,” said Phil Naylor, CEO, MFAA.

The following board members and office bearers for 2009/10 were elected:
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The Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) has welcomed the move by the country’s leading mortgage broker Aussie to come on board as the Principal Sponsor for the Women in Mortgage Business Network (WIMBN).

“The Women in Mortgage Business Network provides significant opportunities for professional development,” Aussie Executive Director Mr James Symond said.

“Aussie is proud to be associated with this important initiative as we believe women are a powerful and successful force within the mortgage broking industry.”

WIMBN holds social and educational seminars across five cities each quarter. Topics range from marketing workshops for business owners, to panels featuring inspiring women.
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The Board of the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) today ceased the membership of around 1,500 brokers who failed to become adequately qualified.

MFAA Chief Executive Phil Naylor said the members failed to abide by the Board’s requirement to successfully complete the Certificate IV in Financial Services (Finance and Mortgage Broking) in time.

“This MFAA wishes to raise — and recognise — the level of professionalism among its members, who provide valuable advice and services to their clients,” Mr Naylor said.
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By Jill Fraser for Lending Central

Australian Institute of Professional Brokers’ co-founder Maria Rigoni claims an “agenda” is behind MFAA CEO Phil Naylor’s negotiations with lenders regarding volume-based accreditation.

(Refer Naylor’s interview with Lending Central 31 July - www.lendingcentral.com/2009/07/31/mfaa-goes-into-bat-for-brokers/)

Rigoni believes that Naylor’s suggestion that lenders adopt broker professionalism as criteria for quality is avoiding the real issues and capitalizing on the situation in order to push the barrow of higher education needs for brokers.

“I feel that he is gearing up the “industry” to accept that professional brokers will be required to have a Diploma in Finance/Mortgage Broking, which of course is a great revenue raising exercise for the MFAA, a Registered Training Organisation,” Rigoni told Lending Central.

“At the MFAA conference Phil stated that “down the track” a broker would be required to hold this qualification in order to retain MFAA membership.”
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By Jill Fraser for Lending Central

MFAA Chief Executive Officer Phil Naylor told Lending Central that he has instigated negotiation with aggregators and lenders regarding the contentious issue of volume-based accreditation.

“We think a far better measure of determining quality is not through volume as a surrogate,” he said.

“We think a better measure is some sort of a definition of professionalism as a criteria, which is what we’re currently working out with lenders.”

Naylor agrees that the accreditation criteria of some lenders, which limits supply, has the potential to “chop a lot of brokers out of the market” because it will impact on their ability to deliver a wide choice of products.
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By Jill Fraser for Lending Central

NAB Broker General Manager, Matt Lawler has sent a letter of apology to broker Maria Rigoni concerning an inaccurate Star rating assessment and for confusion caused by a NAB Broker Service Centre representative, who erroneously advised her that a client’s application was declined due to her low Star rating.

Rigoni told Lending Central that while she appreciates the apology she is dissatisfied with Lawler’s failure to address a number of issues raised in her letter of complaint to the MFAA, in which she accused NAB of breaching the MFAA Code of Conduct.

Her accusation is that NAB’s Star rating system, which she maintains is “volume based”, is “limiting supply of credit products” to brokers and that this will bring sections of the broker industry into “disrepute” in the eyes of borrowers.
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By Jill Fraser for Lending Central

Gerald Foley Managing Director, National Mortgage Brokers disputes the spin that aggregators are heading for extinction and urges brokers, who are in danger of being seduced by accreditation rewards to give all their business to one lender, not to be deceived.

“If I’m a broker and go with lender A and potentially lose accreditation with lenders B, C and D, I’d better hope that lender A is always going to be there,” he says.

Arguing that any aggregator worth its salt is much more than just a commission engine Foley maintains that nMB along with a host of other reputable aggregators, provides a multitude of support functions for brokers and therefore will continue to exist as long as there is a broker market.

Asked his opinion about why aggregators are not mentioned in the membership list in the MFAA Code of Practice Foley says: “In my world I see National Mortgage Brokers and our brokers as a partnership so when anything refers to brokers I consider us an intrinsic part of that”.
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By Jill Fraser for Lending Central

Melbourne-based broker Daniel Thorpe, Managing Director Thorpe Financial Services Pty Ltd says; “in the coming New World it will only require a minor shift in lenders’ policies to do away with aggregators”.

Thorpe contacted Lending Central and offered to put forward the broker’s perspective regarding the changing market.

He maintains that the broker perspective is constantly being trivialised as “whinging”. His argument is that the opposite is true - brokers are adapting to change but not so lenders and aggregators to anywhere near the same extent.

“It’s becoming increasingly clear to me that aggregators - the middlemen - are the one part of the equation that could disappear,” he says.

“The banks have established individual criteria. Their rules vary but essentially they all state that unless brokers submit a specified number of loans a quarter they’ll lose their accreditation.
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