Mortgage Brokering (MB) Stakeholder Advisory Committee (SAC) Meeting with FSRA Board of Directors

Summary of the meeting of May 7, 2025

Board members present:

In-person
Joanne De Laurentiis, Chair
Joseph Iannicelli 
Peggy McCallum 
Ali Salahuddin
Lucie Tedesco 
Rob Wellstood

Virtual
Steve Geist
Doug Turnbull

Regrets
Stewart Lyons

Stakeholder Advisory Committee members present:

In-person
Oghogho (OG) Bawo-Oteri, 8Twelve Mortgage
Amalia Costa, Independent/Consumer
John Harry, Thompson Harry Realty Advisors Inc.
Bill Jandrisits, Normera Capital 
Sophie Lamontagne, Appraisal Institute of Canada
Arjun Saraf, New Haven Mortgage
Leah Zlatkin, Mortgage Outlet
Jasmine Toor, VP Public Affairs, MPC

Virtual
Gregory Banfield, Home Ownership
Jean-Pierre (JP) Boutros, Citius
Susan Redmayne, First National Financial LP

Regrets
Michelle Campbell, Mortgage District
Eli Dadouch, Firm Capital Corporation
Nick Kyprianou, RiverRock Mortgage Investment Corporation

FSRA leadership

In-person
Huston Loke, Executive VP Market Conduct 
Antoinette Leung, FI and Mortgage Conduct
Jordan Solway, EVP Legal and Enforcement
Meghan Kilty, Chief Public Affairs Officer

FSRA Corporate Secretary Office:

Danelle Brown, Corporate Secretary and Deputy General Counsel

FSRA management members present:

Virtual
Daniel Padro, Head, Policy – Core Regulatory, Policy
Gina Stephens, Director, Mortgage Broker Conduct, Market Conduct
Nadia Fagbemi, Senior Manager, Mortgage Broker Conduct, Market Conduct
Jennie Hodgson, Senior Manager, Mortgage Broker Conduct, Market Conduct
Cheryl Szutu, Senior Manager, Mortgage Broker Conduct, Market Conduct
Rocca D’Angela, Senior Manager, Mortgage Brokering, Policy

Summary:

  • The Board Chair opened up the meeting and welcomed the attendees.
  • FSRA’s Market Conduct Executive Vice President provided a short history of mortgage market trends, FSRA priorities and responses to changes in the environment (e.g., supervision focus, guidance documents, and consumer education to help ensure consumers receive mortgages that are suitable for their circumstances).

Key themes:

Reduction in availability of mortgage financing

  • Cyclically high mortgage arrears, declining real estate values, and rising total debt service (TDS) ratios have reduced lender/investor risk appetite to extend credits including mortgages to consumers.
  • As it becomes increasingly difficult to source funding for mortgages, more consumers are turning to higher-cost non-traditional/private lenders who are willing to take on increased risk.

Transparency regarding enforcement outcomes can help promote good conduct

  • Greater awareness of the consequences/penalties for non-compliance with the Mortgage Brokerages, Lenders and Administrators Act, 2006 (MBLAA) may help detect and deter inappropriate/bad business practices, including fraud
  • FSRA may wish to explore options for enhancing communication of its enforcement processes.

FSRA guidance should focus on topics that are subject to complaints or misunderstanding/misinterpretation

  • SAC members commented that FSRA’s proposed guidance on the use of team names is helpful and suggested that FSRA should explore what other topics may require additional guidance on its website (e.g., sector best practices).

Harmonization of CE and other licensing requirements

  • The SAC members noted they appreciate and look forward to FSRA’s ongoing work with the Mortgage Brokers Regulators’ Council of Canada (MBRCC) to consider harmonization of requirements across jurisdictions that would reduce regulatory burden.

Access to licensing history may enhance brokerage diligence when recruiting agents and brokers

  • The level of due diligence conducted for recruiting agents and brokers is not consistent across the sector.
  • It would be beneficial for hiring brokerages to be able to easily access the licence history of licensees, including information regarding any conditions or compliance matters, from FSRA’s website/Licensing Link.