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This week’s winning comment comes from ‘Thomas’ and relates to last Friday’s article on whether the term ‘mortgage broker’ should be axed in favour of the term ‘credit adviser’. It’s possibly a bit cheeky to hand the crown over to someone commenting on an article from the previous week, but since he submitted it on Tuesday – and the majority of comments we got this week were ranting about a certain major bank subsidiary – we’ve opted to make an exception.
In Friday’s article, the MFAA announced the launch of a consumer advertising campaign referring to its members as ‘MFAA approved credit advisers’, rather than ‘brokers’ – a move the group says reflects the new accreditation and value provided by its members. However, FBAA president, Peter White, says the move could simply lead to borrower confusion and inaccurate generalisations. Here’s what Thomas had to say:
“I give credit advice all the time. Merely offering a loan or selection of loans at the very least implies that you have assessed an individual's situation and their capacity to borrow... This is advice, not financial, but credit advice. How can you not give written credit advice on a refi in this legislated market? Doing so without documenting the benefits, costs and risks is leaving yourself wide open to a potential complaint?”
Thanks to everyone who contributed comments over the last seven days and keep an eye out next Friday to see if you're the author of Australian Broker's next top 'Comment of the Week'!
