NCCP Regulation Amendments - Referrers
As you will be aware MFAA has been working over the past few weeks with Treasury and ASIC on a workable method by which brokers and lenders could work with referrers without referrers having to be licensed or...
MFAA in discussion: Referrers and NCCP Act
MFAA is currently in discussion with Treasury and ASIC regarding the relationship of referrers to the NCCP Act. This will be finalised before end June.
Watch MFAA CEO interview on Switzer TV
Peter Switzer asks Phil Naylor, MFAA CEO the following questions: 1. How has the GFC affected brokers' businesses? 2. What percentage of loans go through brokers? 3. How are small lenders coping? 4. What...
Quality vs Volume
For some time the MFAA National Brokers Committee has been concerned about the move by some lenders into using ‘quantity’ or ‘volume’ as a means of deciding broker accreditation. MFAA strongly endorses the need for high quality on loan...
Accredited mortgage brokers offer consumers greater choice
Accredited mortgage brokers offer consumers greater choice Borrowers seeking to refinance their mortgage in light of recent interest rates increases have been urged to use Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) accredited mortgage brokers. ...
Letter to the editor: Barefoot investor
Barefoot Investor (13 July 2009) misses the point as to the services of mortgage brokers. Recent consumer research by brandmanagement demonstrates why borrowers prefer mortgage brokers. The majority said it was because they ‘did the leg work’ (73...
National Consumer Credit Protection Bill introduced into Federal Parliament
The new Minister for Financial Services, Corporate Law and Superannuation, the Hon Chris Bowen introduced the National Consumer Credit Protection Bill into Federal Parliament on Thursday 25 June the last day of the Parliamentary winter session. ...
MFAA response: National Consumer Credit Protection Bill
Click here to read MFAA's submission to the government in response to the exposure draft for the National Consumer Credit Protection Bill.
Watch the MFAA Regulation Roadshow Presentation
Please click here and follow the instructions on screen to watch the presentation.
ACCC sees benefit in mortgage and finance body's disciplinary rules
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission proposes to grant conditional authorisation to the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia to enable it to continue to use its disciplinary rules, ACCC Chairman, Mr Graeme Samuel, said today. Authorisation...
Correspondence between GE & MFAA
Read MFAA's original letter from CEO, Phil Naylor to Federal Treasurer, Hon.Wayne Swan Read GE's initial response to MFAA's letter to Hon. Wayne Swan Read MFAA's reply to GE's initial response...
MFAA CEO on evoTV
Phil talks about how the sub prime crisis has affected Australian mortgages, and how Australian lending practices differ from those in the US. He shares the MFAAs views on compulsory broker licensing and the positive impact on change of...
Brokers do it better: letters to the editor
The Barefoot Investor, Scott Pape, is either confused or deluded if he thinks consumers should avoid mortgage brokers to save money (‘Take the simple tightwad test and save thousands’, Daily Telegraph, November 8) (Tight fit in fashion,...
MFAA: Cooperative approach the solution to sound regulation
Statement from Phil Naylor, CEO of the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) The MFAA’s philosophy in dealing with regulation and the introduction of legislation governing mortgage and finance brokers is to engage and collaborate...
Opinion piece: A shot in the arm for local lenders
The Government's commitment to buy prime mortgage-backed securities is a shot in the arm for local lenders, who have been hit hard by the lack of money in the market as a result of conditions overseas. By adding...
Letter to the editor: Brokers not the cause of mortgage pain
The insinuation that it is usual practice for mortgage brokers to encourage borrowers into inappropriate home loans is irresponsible and grossly inaccurate (‘Reserve Bank not to blame for our sub-prime battlers’, 26 September). While predatory lending still exists...
MFAA appears before Inquiry into Competition in the Banking and Non-bank sectors
On 3 June 2008 the Treasurer the Honourable Wayne Swan MP, asked the House of Representatives Economics Committee to inquire into and report on Competition in the banking and non-banking sectors . MFAA CEO Phil Naylor was asked...
MFAA's submission to Inquiry into competition in the banking and non-banking sectors
MFAA's submission to the House of Representatives Economic Committee INQUIRY INTO COMPETITION IN THE BANKING AND NON-BANKING SECTORS... click here to read To see and/or download the 37 other submissions made to the committee on this matter...
Letter to Editor AFR - Aussie Mac for emergencies makes sense
The renewed calls for a Government-backed source of securitised funding (‘Aussie Mac’ for emergencies makes sense, 19 July 2008) are completely justified and have the backing of the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia. Offering lenders greater...
Loan strugglers: Brokers and banks
People with loans written by a broker are slightly less likely to struggle with repayments as borrowers with a loan taken out directly with a bank, according to the findings of the latest Mortgage and Finance Association (MFAA) /...
Desire, but no commitment to refinance
The number of people refinancing their home loans is on the decline, and despite indications that people do want to refinance soon, a high level of apathy means it is unlikely to happen, according to the latest Mortgage and...
Federal Treasurer supports MFAA efforts
A recent letter to MFAA from the Federal Treasurer, Wayne Swan, re the ASIC Review of mortgage entry and exit fees , comments as follows in respect of broker conduct: “I am aware that your organization is...
Brokers ask: Where is the partnership?
Mortgage and finance brokers have hit back after a recent spate of broker commission cuts or foreshadowed cuts announced by lenders, claiming the lenders’ stance reflects a lack of transparency and partnership. Phil Naylor, CEO of the Mortgage...
Brokers go beyond the call
The Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia’s (MFAA) latest survey data has revealed that over 26% of mortgage and finance brokers are happy to meet clients outside of business hours. In addition, 53% will meet at a customer’s home....
Letter to the Editor - Reducing broker commissions won't benefit borrowers
The article ‘Mortgage Savings’ in Daily Telegraph 15 April, page 27, shows a naïve understanding of what will happen if broker commissions are reduced by lenders, as is discussed in the article. The lead statement that ‘mortgages will...
MFAA renews call for Government to secure home finance funds
The MFAA has renewed its calls for the Government to ensure securitised funding sources for lenders as the latest statistics showed a marked fall in finance originated by wholesale lenders. “The latest ABS Housing Finance statistics show that...
MFAA calls for ongoing loan funding sources
In a submission to the Senate Select Committee into Housing Affordability, the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia has urged for action to ensure the maintenance of competition in the home lending market to hold interest rates down. Read...
The bricks and mortar of regulation
By Phil Naylor Borrowers love dealing with mortgage brokers. They listen, do the hard work, and come back with a range of solutions tailored to the individual client’s needs. Over the past five years the...
Broking legislation to go federal?
Media reports today indicate that at the Coalition of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting on 26 March, the federal government will request the states to hand over powers to legislate for mortgage and finance brokers. This has been on...
14th MFAA member expelled for misconduct
Stephen Cleary of Queensland has become the 14 th member to be expelled from the Mortgage & Finance Association of Australia (MFAA), for misconduct. Mr Cleary was expelled by the Tribunal after it was substantiated that he...
Broker commissions: inaccuracies refuted
I draw your attention to some sweeping and demonstrably inaccurate statements in Sun Herald page 5, 10 February 2008, in which is asserted that commissions paid to mortgage brokers were some of the biggest home grown contributors to the...
ASIC's report on refinancing as a response to mortgage stress
Protecting wealth in the family home: An examination of refinancing in response to mortgage stress This report draws on a qualitative examination of a small number of transactions, where brokers arranged refinances...
Mortgage brokers in slow lane: MFAA Responds
Letter to the Editor The article ‘Mortgage brokers in slow lane’ AFR, 14 March 2008, contains some glib throw away lines that warrant correction. JP Morgan analyst Brian Johnson asserts “ brokers (are) driving around...
MFAA expels 13 th member
The Mortgage & Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) has expelled its 13 th member, Ms Xue Mei Mary Zhao of NSW, for misconduct. MFAA CEO, Phil Naylor said: “MFAA members must meet high standards of behaviour, ethics,...
Don't stress at the sight of buzz words: MFAA
With the RBA raising rates by 0.25 per cent yet again, the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) reminds nervous borrowers that there are experts that can help. “In times of confusion and changing climates,...
2008 MFAA Excellence Awards Winners
Mortgage and finance finest honoured The mortgage and finance industry has applauded the best of the best, at this year’s annual Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) Excellence Awards on Friday night, crowning Mortgage Choice...
2008 MFAA Excellence Awards Finalists
INDIVIDUAL AWARDS Achievement Award FINALISTS Peter Behrendt – Peter Behrendt, Xinc James Hassell – Mortgage...
National Regulation - the latest update
Download the powerpoint presentation now - click here .
Bill Facilities now regulated by the UCCC
by Vicki Grey , Gadens Lawyers New Regulations have been passed bringing the use of bill facilities, such as bills of exchange or promissory notes, within the Uniform Consumer Credit Code (UCCC) where the credit is...
Rate worries can be eased by an expert
The announcement of National Australia Bank's 0.12 percentage point rise on standard variable loans means many things for many borrowers, said the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia (MFAA). "The most important thing is to make sensible...
Mentoring Guidelines
View revised MFAA Mentoring Guidelines
National Regulation Exposure Draft
National Regulation Exposure Draft
Proposed Victorian Consumer Protection Initiatives
by Jon Denovan, Gadens Lawyers December 2007 Victoria proposes to amend its Consumer Credit (Victoria) Act and Sale of Land Act to provide better protection for consumers in line...
ASIC Reverse Mortgage report demonstrates correctness of MFAA Approach
The recent report on the reverse mortgage market by ASIC "All we have is this house' provides further evidence of the correctness of MFAA's approach in insisting on rigour in distributing equity release products. MFAA has consistently warned that...
MFAA introduces new hardship assistance for borrowers
The Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) has introduced new measures to ensure non bank lenders, mortgage managers and brokers assist borrowers who find themselves in financial difficulty. The Association has amended its Code of Practice...
Seek advice before skipping to the bank for refinancing
The Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) has called for consumers with non bank loans to fully investigate their mortgage options before refinancing their loan with a big bank. The MFAA has again defended the role of non...
Letter to the Editor - Cowboy Roundup
A letter to the editor of the Courier Mail and Herald Sun The article by Scott Pape ( Cowboy Roundup, 22 September) reflects the view of someone who has walked out of the darkness to...
AFR Editorial misses the point (
The editorial Give credit code a chance, September 18, although it gives a thorough summation of the issues considered by the report of the parliamentary committee chaired by Bruce Baird, misses one important point. In...
MFAA welcomes Parliamentary Inquiry Report on Lending Practices and Processes
The Parliamentary Inquiry Report on Lending Practices Processes tabled in Federal Parliament today has made worthwhile recommendations to protect home buyers according to the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia (MFAA). The MFAA CEO, Phil Naylor, who participated...
Media refinance advice totally inappropriate
Recent media commentary stating that non bank borrowers should refinance is totally inappropriate and misrepresents the position of non bank lenders, said Phil Naylor, CEO of the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia. Read on...
MFAA welcomes Treasurer's call for national regulation
Letter to the Hon. Peter Costello
MFAA/BankWest Home Finance Index June 2007
- 23.5% of respondents feel they are worse off than they were 12 months ago. Those with a home loan are, statistically, less likely to feel they are better off. - There is evidence that people are deferring...
The MFAA Essentials of Borrowing Campaign
Launched in the first week of June 2007 and followed by online and print advertisements, which will run throughout the year, the MFAA consumer website www.essentialsofborrowing.com.au is off to a flying start. In the first week the site...
MFAA Loan Writer Survey Results 2007
MFAA Loan Writer Survey Results Some interesting results have come out of the latest survey. For example: Loan Writers surveyed stated that the top three challenges they face in their role in 2007 are: Attracting new...
MFAA Welcomes ACCC Decision on Aussie Notification
The Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) has welcomed the decision by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) that it does not intend to take its Aussie Home Loans notification any further. The impact of...
Regulation Update
Queensland proposes to regulate finance brokers On 7 April 2007, Queensland's Fair Trading Minister releasedproposals to regulate finance brokers. Queensland is taking this action to put some interim regulation in place as a national regime is unlikely...
Proposed New Regulation for UCCC Lending
Proposed changes to the UCCC are set out in a Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) released in March 2007 and available at "what's new" at www.creditcode.gov.au. Although directed at the fringe credit market, there some initiatives in the RIS which...
Clitheroe Calls on the Mortgage Industry
Paul Clitheroe, Chairman of the Financial Literary Taskforce, and one of Australia's best known financial advisors has called on the mortgage industry to help improve financial literacy in Australia. "When someone comes in to talk about a mortgage...
Superannuation Information
For members who are also financial planners... The Superannuation legislation amendment (Simplification) Bill 2007 received Royal Assent on Thursday 15 March 2007. Fact sheets on the key Superannuation measures The ATO has developed...
WA Code Released
The WA Finance Broker Code of Conduct was released today. The MFAA WA Council has worked tirelessly and extensively on the revision of the Code and has welcomed its release. View the MFAA media...
MFAA and ACCC
There has been much speculation in the industry media (some of it ill-informed) about the ACCC enquiry into changes made to the MFAA Constitution last July relating to the membership conditions applying to broking businesses and mortgage management businesses...
Regulation Model Updated
The Regulation of Credit Providers and Finance Brokers paper: a comprehensive guide to 10 areas of legislation from licensing requirements around Australia to marketing rules. Updated 12 November 2007 : View the paper here
'Gold Star' Compliance Programme
The MFAA has launched a new service for members: the 'Gold Star' Compliance Programme. The Programme provides a consistent, industry-wide standard for the review of loan files to mitigate the risks of non-compliance. Non-compliant loan origination practices have been...
Fraud White Paper
The MFAA with PwC has released a white paper to promote discussion about mortgage fraud and strategies to address fraud risk. The objective of the paper is to assist all members of the MFAA to reduce...
Excellence Awards Finalists Announced
The finalists in the 2007 MFAA Excellence Awards have been announced. View the finalists. The winners will be announced on 2 March 2007, at a gala event at Crown Towers, Melbourne. Hosted by Adam Hills with...
MFAA Welcomes Decision Not to Raise Rates
View the media release.
Legal
The MFAA & Gadens Lawyers Paper, Regulation of Credit Providers and Finance Brokers (4 Nov 2008) is one of the most referenced documents on the MFAA website. It provides legal information on 10 relevant areas to industry: registration and...
False and Misleading Representations
Recently we received advice from a major government regulator that they had received a number of complaints over the last year alleging that licensed finance brokers have made false or misleading representations regarding the status of finance approval. ...
WA Finance Brokers Licensing - Mortgage Managers Practice Module
There's a new Gadens paper in the Members Centre to help mortgage managers understand: whether they are required to hold a finance brokers license in WA; and if they are required to be licensed, what restrictions particularly impact on...
ACCC Inquiry: MFAA membership requirement
Some members have received correspondence from ACCC regarding an inquiry the ACCC is conducting regarding one of the MFAA membership requirements. The requirement was introduced by a Special General Meeting of members in July 2006 whereby members...
Loan Company in Court
A Sydney company (non-MFAA member) offering interest-free home loans has been accused of running a scam operation. ASIC has charged Trevor Cohen with engaging in misleading conduct in relation to financial services, obtaining money by deception and four counts...
WA Regulations - Latest Update
How will new license regulations apply to you? Put simply, if you do business in WA or with WA residents and you arrange loans you need to be licensed (see below). The penalty for acting as...
Do Not Call Register: Implications for Industry
Does your business undertake telemarketing activities or use such services? Then you need to know about the ‘Do Not Call Register Act 2006' (the Act), passed by the federal government which anticipates that a Do Not Call Register will...
Conference Bookings Now Open
Registration for the 2007 MFAA National Conference & ExpoMart which will be held in Adelaide from 30 May – 1 June is now open! There are three tracks at the conference this year: Broker and Frontline Sales;...
