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The MFAA’s proposed changes to its accreditation requirements has received mixed reviews from its members, with some arguing the changes favour quantity over quality.
Pat Guanaccia of R-Finance Australia told Mortgage Business he was unhappy with being required to have a minimum number of lenders on his panel.
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Under the drafted changes, all MFAA members would be required to maintain accreditation with a minimum of 10 lenders on an ongoing basis.
“I have about five to six lenders on my panel and they have been carefully selected based on quality of product and competitive pricing. I don’t want to have lenders on my panel just for the sake of it,” Mr Guanaccia said.
“If the MFAA imposes minimum lender requirements, then the result will be brokers trying to make up volume on the panel – and that brings us back to the volume vs quality issue all over again.”
Mr Guanaccia said having a minimum lender requirement could serve to weaken a broker’s performance, thereby contradicting the MFAA’s aim of achieving quality over quantity.
“If a broker is not a ‘professional credit adviser’ because he fails to meet the minimum number of lenders on his panel – does this mean he is an unprofessional adviser?” Mr Guanaccia said.
But Stuart Litchfield of Active Finance Champions felt the proposed changes would help to create a higher standard of professionalism in the industry.
“I think the minimum education requirements and minimum number of lender accreditations is a good thing, as there are still a few ‘car salesmen’ in the industry. The changes will ultimately raise the bar of the profession,” Mr Litchfield said.
MFAA chief executive officer Phil Naylor said brokers would be given the chance to voice their opinions over the coming months, as the drafted changes are currently in the consultation process.
He said while the overall feedback had been generally positive, there was some concern amongst brokers and these concerns would be duly dealt with.
“It’s still early days and more information will come in due course. The MFAA will provide members with more consultation opportunities and a solid understanding of the changes before they are implemented,” Mr Naylor told Mortgage Business.
“We are not currently on a deadline to implement the changes.
“We are mindful that brokers will also be affected by the new regulatory licensing regime in mid-2010 so we don’t want to cause confusion for them at that time of the year.”
Mr Naylor said the MFAA would provide more information to its members about the changes in February next year.
“The MFAA will get in touch with all its members, whether that be through road shows or other means, to ensure that everyone is brought up to speed on all the finer details,” he said.
