FSRA Mortgage Brokering Stakeholder Advisory Committee Meeting with the Board of Directors

Summary of the Meeting of June 3, 2022
Via Zoom

Stakeholder Advisory Committee members present:

David Sutherland - Kingston Mortgage Solutions / Mortgage Alliance Canada
William Jandrisits - Normera Capital Partners
Kevin P Lonsdale - Canadian National Association of Real Estate Appraisers
Gregory Banfield - Home Ownership Alternatives
Nick Kyprianou - RiverRock Mortgage Investment Corporation
Joe Pinheiro - Mortgage Professionals Canada
Andre Hannoush - Appraisal Institute of Canada
Akber Abbas - 8Twelve Mortgage Corporation
Ali Zaidi - RateShop Inc.
John Harry - Thompson Harry Realty Advisors Inc.
Susan Redmayne – First National Financial LP

Board members present:

Joanne De Laurentiis – Chair of the Board
Blair Cowper-Smith - Director
Joseph Iannicelli - Director
Brent Zorgdrager – Director
Barbara Bellissimo – Director
Kathy Bouey – Director

Management members present:

Mark White – Chief Executive Officer
Glen Padassery – Executive Vice President, Policy & Chief Consumer Officer
Jordan Solway – Executive Vice President, Legal and Enforcement
Judy Pfeifer – Chief Public Affairs Officer
Huston Loke – Executive Vice President, Market Conduct
Joel Gorlick – Director, Policy - Market Conduct
Wendy Horrobin – Head, Licensing and Risk Assessment
Antoinette Leung – Head, Financial Institutions and Mortgage Brokerage Conduct
Nadiatou Fagbemi – Senior Manager, Mortgage Broker Conduct, Special Situations

Corporate secretary’s office:

Heather Greenberg – Corporate Secretary
Ligia Simoes – Assistant Corporate Secretary
Demola Oloyede – Board Administrator

General comments

The Chair of the Board called the meeting to order and provided introductory remarks about the importance of stakeholder engagement. She noted that the Board recognizes that effective stakeholder engagement builds a stronger regulatory working relationship and trust and that it is important that both FSRA and its stakeholders share valuable information through open and strategic discussions. She noted that as part of their governance role, the Board would like to better understand the Committee’s environment, needs, and interests with a focus on forward looking activities and asked the Committee to comment on the factors or changes in their sector that they are actively monitoring, top sector risks and critical success factors for the sector.

The Committee discussed changes in the sector that they are actively monitoring, including the impacts of inflation and the resulting increased risk profile on the industry.

The Committee discussed top risks and critical success factors for the sector, including the need to increase proficiency requirements for licensing as not all brokers have the same experience or skill set, the need for underwriting experience for mortgage lending and administration, the increased need for regulatory oversight relating to disclosure obligations especially for complex lending transactions, and the need for increased education, supervision, and accountability for brokers to decrease the potential headline risks (e.g., fraud) and to ensure best practices are being implemented and followed.

The Chair thanked the Committee for their insight and helping the Board focus on strategic issues for the sector. The Executive Vice President, Market Conduct, FSRA noted that the information provided by the Committee helps management determine the strategic priorities for the annual business plan and looks forward to engaging with the Committee for further input on those priorities towards the end of the year.