Brokers call CAAMP up to bat

Industry players are calling for CAAMP to demand a retraction from CBC, following a segment that painted brokers and monolines with the same brush as high interest “shadow” lenders.

Brokers argue a CBC radio segment about shadow lending was misleading for mortgage borrowers and damaging to the industry, and are calling on CAAMP to take action.

“Surely this would be a great time for the ‘new’ CAAMP to step up for the entire industry and demand at the very least a retraction from the CBC/Ms. Yalnizyan for their uninformed commentary and perhaps even urge Ms. Yalnizyan to investigate the brokerage industry and report -- accurately -- on it,” one reader wrote in a response to a recent MortgageBrokerNews.ca story.

That request was echoed across the industry following a CBC Metro Morning radio segment that contained misleading information about non-bank lenders and brokers.

“Housing prices have increased … so people need to borrow more; you can’t borrow from the banks so you turn to this non-bank sector and it is an expensive option,” CBC business commentator Armine Yalnizyan said on the segment, entitled Shadow Banking, which aired Friday morning. “Bank mortgages, which average about three per cent for a five year fixed term compared to non-banks which can vary between seven and 15 whopping per cent.”

And a number of brokers are calling on Canada’s national organization to take action.

“Someone from the CAAMP media department should contact this person and get an interview to post a contrasting article that captures some additional comments and highlights percentage of Mortgage brokers do that is AAA lending with banks or monolines,” another commenter wrote.
And it’s a viewpoint shared by others in the industry.

“Most definitely … I think it’s an excellent idea for CAAMP to reach out to the CBC and provide more information about what brokers do,” Geoff Del Grande of The Mortgage Centre told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “Why are we getting tarred with the same brush (as lenders charging high interest) … there is no mention in the segment about the bank penalties, whereas brokers are up-front about those with clients.”

Click here to listen to the original CBC segment.