8 secrets road reps told MBN

A high-volume road rep at one of the Big Five is sharing a laundry list of secrets with MortgageBrokerNews.ca, including just how many deals he loses to brokers and the real reason why mortgage specialists return to the bank after a stint in the broker channel.

The following information – collected over the course of an extensive interview Saturday with MortgageBrokerNews.ca editor Vernon Clement Jones-- was shared on condition of anonymity. It nonetheless reflects the observations and analysis of not only a leading road rep with CIBC but presumably many of his counterparts at big banks across the country.

1. Road reps lose about 10-15 per cent of their deals to mortgage brokers. “That’s almost always on rate and not because of any service deficit,” according to the GTA mortgage specialist, “and it’s been a relatively consistent (figure) over the last five years.” So brokers aren’t gaining or losing momentum in today’s mortgage war.”
2. Road reps do respect mortgage brokers as fellow salesmen and women. “We do, however, see ourselves as superior to branch mortgage specialists, who generally are more reliant on walk-ins and aren’t (hustling) for deals like road reps or brokers.”
3. Ouch! Warning, this one may hurt: “Many road reps who go over to the broker channel often come back to the bank,” said the source, “and it’s not because they can’t make it without a big bank name behind them. No, it’s because the deals that come to them as brokers aren’t generally of the quality that we see in the bank, and doing the broker deals can make you feel a little dirty. The prestige isn’t there.”
4. Road reps see the broker value proposition as focused on rate and rate alone. “I would say that broker rates tend to be about 10% lower than ours. Which isn’t to say that we won’t match those rates in many cases.” #pb#
5. 5. Road reps are just as likely – perhaps more so – to defect to a competing bank team than to go to the broker channel. In fact, that movement is increasing, with a couple of banks upping the commission and other terms that they offer high-volume road reps willing to come over to their institutions.
6. 6. Many road reps want nothing to do with the branches. Although they will go to the branch to meet clients, they are not dependent on branch leads. Still, to the extent that they want those referrals from the branch, they will make a concerted effort to cross-sell clients on other bank offerings in order to stay in “good” with the branch.
7. 7. “Road reps are not threatened by mortgage brokers,” said the industry vet. “Often our clients would prefer to get their mortgages through us despite the low rates at the bank. But we are (uneasy) about rate site brokers and the rates that are being offered there.” While banks will continue to match rates offered by other big banks, they won’t follow an Industrial Alliance, for example.
8. 8. Road reps are under the same kind of pressure to buy down rates as mortgage brokers are, the source told MBN.