This leading industry veteran says a collective voice could prevent government meddling
Scott Musselman began his career 16 years ago with Invis, where he has spent much of his career, but weeks into his new role as Mortgage Architect’s vice president of operations, he shared some of his vision for the monolith’s future.
“Bringing efficiencies in economies of scale, I hope to bring French and new creative ideas in a collaborative environment,” said Musselman. “By joining Mortgage Architects now, I will have some internal operational insight into seven super brokers in Canada. I hope to bring experience to my new team at Mortgage Architects.
“When Invis purchased Mortgage Intelligence back in 2007, what was really compelling and interesting to me was to open the hood of an engine of another brokerage and see how each operation drives. I was fortunate enough to get hat understanding with Mortgage Alliance. It’s about creating, implementing and deploying effective projects and programs.”
Asked about the new Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions mortgage underwriting rules set to take effect on January 1, Musselman believes it’s for times like these that professional organizations exist.
“We need to rally around our professional organizations and I think it’s important to educate our clients and spread the word,” said Musselman. “I think a consumer outcry will make government listen, but if consumers are not as educated as they need to be, they won’t find out until they come in for a renewal next year, or in three years. Consumer participation and education are paramount.”
Musselman questions the need for government intervention in the market because he says the intent of the new regulation is to solve problems that don’t exist for a problem that peaked nearly a decade ago.
“Looking back to the hangovers from 2008-2009, the mortgage crisis in the states that dipped into Canada where we lost roughly 25% of business in 2007-2008,” he said. “The effect is to reduce the exposure to the taxpaying Canadian from a potential housing, or credit, crisis, but their actions are offloading on affordability, uploading onto those same consumers for unaffordability ,and public policy seems to have been missed on the importance of housing for Canadians.”
“With more regulation comes more consumer confusion, and there comes the need to have more professional advice,” he said. “Do we need more regulation? Nobody perceives it as a good thing; it makes things more complex for the average consumer to understand.
Ultimately, Musselman believes that government always listens to outraged voters. In the case of the mortgage regulations, most people are unaffected, while those who are won’t realize until their renewals are due.
“We could, as an industry, be doing a better job about raising awareness to consumers about what impact the latest round of regulation will have on their purchasing power. One estimate said it could be as much as 20%.”
Related stories:
Flurry of activity expected before January 1
Will OSFI regulations really strip consumers of choice?
“Bringing efficiencies in economies of scale, I hope to bring French and new creative ideas in a collaborative environment,” said Musselman. “By joining Mortgage Architects now, I will have some internal operational insight into seven super brokers in Canada. I hope to bring experience to my new team at Mortgage Architects.
“When Invis purchased Mortgage Intelligence back in 2007, what was really compelling and interesting to me was to open the hood of an engine of another brokerage and see how each operation drives. I was fortunate enough to get hat understanding with Mortgage Alliance. It’s about creating, implementing and deploying effective projects and programs.”
Asked about the new Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions mortgage underwriting rules set to take effect on January 1, Musselman believes it’s for times like these that professional organizations exist.
“We need to rally around our professional organizations and I think it’s important to educate our clients and spread the word,” said Musselman. “I think a consumer outcry will make government listen, but if consumers are not as educated as they need to be, they won’t find out until they come in for a renewal next year, or in three years. Consumer participation and education are paramount.”
Musselman questions the need for government intervention in the market because he says the intent of the new regulation is to solve problems that don’t exist for a problem that peaked nearly a decade ago.
“Looking back to the hangovers from 2008-2009, the mortgage crisis in the states that dipped into Canada where we lost roughly 25% of business in 2007-2008,” he said. “The effect is to reduce the exposure to the taxpaying Canadian from a potential housing, or credit, crisis, but their actions are offloading on affordability, uploading onto those same consumers for unaffordability ,and public policy seems to have been missed on the importance of housing for Canadians.”
“With more regulation comes more consumer confusion, and there comes the need to have more professional advice,” he said. “Do we need more regulation? Nobody perceives it as a good thing; it makes things more complex for the average consumer to understand.
Ultimately, Musselman believes that government always listens to outraged voters. In the case of the mortgage regulations, most people are unaffected, while those who are won’t realize until their renewals are due.
“We could, as an industry, be doing a better job about raising awareness to consumers about what impact the latest round of regulation will have on their purchasing power. One estimate said it could be as much as 20%.”
Related stories:
Flurry of activity expected before January 1
Will OSFI regulations really strip consumers of choice?
