Marc McInnis, the VP of insurance underwriting, servicing and policy for CMHC has stepped down, with no reason given.
Marc McInnis, the VP of insurance underwriting, servicing and policy for CMHC has stepped down, with no reason given.
Now under the auspices of OSFI and finance minister Jim Flaherty, rumours have been rife that the agency could be in for more changes as Flaherty has hinted at privatizing parts of the agency.
“They are tinkering with the basic facets of lending now to mould the real estate and mortgage market into some kind of Fraser Institute doppleganger,” says Bruce Flanagan, a broker with Verico Premiere Mortgage Centre. “Is this a signal that they are privatizing parts of the CMHC? You are dead right and its nuts.”
Earlier, the crown corporation had announced that Wall Street banker Robert P. Kelly had been brought in as chairman. Outgoing chief Karen Kinsley is being replaced by an interim president and CEO effective June 17.
This comes amidst the latest numbers from CMHC, which shows the federally-backed insurer wrote $8.2 billion in insurance during the first three months of 2013 – less than half of the almost $19 billion during the same quarter in 2012.
Analysts say that the decline reflects the new policies on tighter mortgage rules introduced almost a year ago and more rigid underwriting when compared to CMHC’s two competitors.
“Overall I see that deals are getting more and more difficult to approve,” Dan Page of Mortgage Intelligence told MortgageBrokerNews.ca, adding that it “will be interesting” to see statistics from the other mortgage insurers to see if they reflect the same low numbers.
