Peter White, the executive director of the Finance Brokers Association of Australia (
FBAA), has returned from Canada after making an address at the Canadian Mortgage Brokers Association’s (CMBA) national conference.
Speaking to
Australian Broker, White said his time in Canada was a “check and balance” on how brokers conducted themselves in the Australian marketplace including interactions with regulators and the government.
The local broking industry is “very much on the money,” White said.
“I don’t think there’s anything here that we need to change from what we’re doing.”
White said his discussions with Canadian brokers proved the messaging around brokers was in the proper place here in Australia.
“It doesn’t matter where you look overseas. When you understand their journey and why they are where they are today, we are exactly right in what we’re doing. We are very sound in what we’re doing.
“We’re not perfect, which is why you have regulators and they keep us in a bit of check and balance but our broking market in Australia is most certainly not off the rails. It’s most certainly not in any need of fundamental, major change.”
The CMBA invited White to speak on a new piece of regulation bring introduced in Canada around disclosing conflicts of interest and commission structures, and how Australian brokers responded to similar legislation brought into effect in July 2010.
“It was of great benefit for them and of great knowledge and understanding for us. We’ve built some friends through which we’re going to go on a much bigger journey as we go forward throughout the year.”
While there, White also met with the Financial Institution’s Commission (FICOM), the Canadian equivalent of the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC), to understand where they were at from a regulatory position.
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