Mandatory mortgage broker association membership reasonable: National Mortgage Brokers

Gerald Foley, managing director of National Mortgage Brokers, has backed Aussie Home Loans and Mortgage Choice’s requirement that their brokers be members of an industry body of their choosing. 

John Symond’s Aussie Home Loans and Mortgage Choice, the two most well-known mortgage broking brands, are currently awaiting a ruling from the ACCC about whether they can continue to make membership of the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) mandatory rather than let brokers choose the MFAA or rival industry body the Finance Brokers Association of Australia (FBAA).

The FBAA claims such mandatory requirements are anti-competitive. 

“The current debate in the market seems to be confused around whether a retail aggregator, such as Mortgage Choice or Aussie, has the right to require their members to be members of an association,” Foley says. 

“To me it seems a reasonable position for a branded business to insist that all its members are following the same set of rules.” 

National Mortgage Brokers, which has about 300 brokers, is a member of both the MFAA and the FBAA, and Foley says it sees value in being a member of an industry association. 

“As far as our brokers are concerned, we encourage all our brokers to also be a member of one of the associations, however it is not mandatory. As most lenders, at least at this stage, still require association membership then most brokers have no option but to join,” he says. 

“I think as we all get more comfortable with licensing more lenders will start to relax their association membership requirements and rely on the aggregator and licence holder’s ability to manage their networks.”