CFF Centre brokers optimistic about acquisition

Brokers currently operating Canadian First Financial Centres believe Home Capital’s acquisition of the schedule I bank will help them better compete with the big banks

Home Capital’s acquisition of CFF Bank will provide broker partners with more products to better deepen customer relationships, say industry players.

“I knew CFF Bank was looking for more funds and resources and this sale to Home Trust gives us more access to capital to bring out a lot more products,” Roy Singh of Centum Discount Mortgage Canada told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “CFF now has access to a whole slew of new products … and it gives us a viable option to compete with the banks.”

Singh argues he’s now better equipped to compete with the banks because he has access to more Alt-A mortgages and lower variable rates.

For his part, Peter Majthenyi of Mortgage Architects echoes Singh’s sentiments.

“We’re running a full retail service centre right now and to run a full gamut of products, like we do, is very capital-intensive,” Majtheynyi, who operates a CFF Centre in Toronto, told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “To build better products faster we needed a bigger partner … and a well-funded parent company allows me to offer more competitive mortgages, GICs, and other products.”
Home Capital announced late Monday that its subsidiary, Home Trust, will acquire CFF Bank. The purchase price is estimated at $15 million.

The terms of the agreement stipulate that the 37 brokers operating CFF Centres will retain shares in CFF Bank’s former parent company, Canadian First Financial. 100 per cent of CFF Bank’s shares, meanwhile, have been purchased by Home Trust, according to Gerald Soloway, CEO of Home Trust.
 
CFF Bank currently offers mortgage, deposit and personal banking products but its broker partners will now have access to even more options for clients.

“I don’t see any negatives,” Singh said. “I just see positives.”