A new online database helps consumers find out if mortgage brokers have broken the rules that govern their profession.
Consumers can enter a mortgage broker’s name or company into the search-friendly database and see disciplinary actions (licence suspensions, administrative penalties, cease and desist orders) that have been taken against a broker by their provincial mortgage regulator and other Canadian regulators.
The database, developed by the Mortgage Broker Regulators’ Council of Canada (MBRCC), integrates disciplinary records from most provincial regulators into a single, convenient place, the council says.
In addition, mortgage brokerages and regulators across Canada now have easier access to disciplinary information, it says. Developing the database supports the MBRCC’s mandate to improve and promote harmonization of mortgage broker regulatory practices across Canada.
More than 23,000 mortgage brokers are currently licensed across Canada.
The council says disciplinary actions will be posted on the database for varying amounts of time, matching how long each regulator posts records in their own province. It says consumers should still visit their provincial regulator’s website to get licence status information for mortgage brokers authorized to operate in that province.
