The Newsy Neighbour Magazine
www.TheNewsyNeighbour.com
May Issue 115
Article Provided By: Jason Eldridge
For years, the Banks
have always been the institution that consumers have gone to for financial
products and services. It used to be, back in the day, that everyone from the
tellers to the loans officer and even the branch manager knew many of their
customers by name. Those days may be long behind us for the foreseeable future.
The banks are feeling intense pressure from investors and stock holders to
continue increasing the bottom line…but at what cost?
In light of the recent
allegations by employees working for five of the major Banks, I feel it is
important to bring attention to what I do for my clients as a mortgage broker,
and dispel any possible negative thoughts, misconceptions or assumptions about
the sales process in this industry.
Starting in April,
Canada’s financial consumer watchdog will be implementing a review of the banks’
business practices. According to a report by CBC, employees from five of
Canada’s biggest Banks allege that they have felt pressured to upsell, trick
and even lie to customers to meet sales targets. They go onto admit to signing
up existing and new clients for products and services without their knowledge
and consent. Perhaps this may be part of the reason why it appears that there
is so much staff turnover within the banks these days.
As a mortgage
professional in good standing with RECA (Real Estate Council of Alberta), AMBA (Alberta
Mortgage Brokers Association) and MPC (Mortgage Professionals Canada) I am
mandated to present my clients and have them authorize a consent form that
outlines what my role and responsibilities are, how I am compensated, as well
as privacy and disclosure practices.
As a dedicated
mortgage specialist, with a financial planning designation, my mission
statement is simple…finding my clients the mortgage financing option that best
suites them and their situation, and doing so in a clear, convenient and
professional manner. While my clients always have the choice of which chartered
bank or financial institution they want me to work with on their behalf, more
often than not, they choose a “mono-line” lender for various reasons. For those
not familiar with this term, a mono-line lender only offers one financial
product…mortgages. Needless to say, you don’t have to worry about tied selling,
cross selling or assumptive marketing practices as these companies don’t have
any other products or services to offer. With that said, there are situations
where the big Banks have mortgage products that may be better suited to a
specific client and situation. If my clients determine that the bigger banks
are offering a product they prefer, I am only to happy to finalize the mortgage
itself, and then refer the file to the branch. Prior to handing off the
mortgage file to the branch, I make my clients aware that the branch may
contact them to offer additional products or services sometime down the road.
It should be noted
that as a mortgage broker, it is my fiduciary duty to offer each and every
client the opportunity to protect their mortgage with either life, disability,
job loss, and/or accidental life insurance, but as a client, you are NOT
mandated to take any of this coverage.
As always, I
welcome any questions or comments you may have regarding the information
contained in my articles. Until next month…
PASSION…PRIDE…PURPOSE
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