National Bank announced changes to the compensation structure of its broker services this week and broker opinions diverge among those who say they won’t be affected and those who feel it will impact their decision to use the bank’s services.
National Bank announced changes to the compensation structure of its broker services this week and broker opinions diverge among those who say they won’t be affected and those who feel it will impact their decision to use the bank’s services.
“I think the changes are not a good thing because they are reducing the volume bonus, which was already reduced last year,” Colleen Austin of True North Mortgage told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “To reduce it again so quickly is going to be a detriment. We do send a fair amount of business there so it will impact where we’re going to send things.”
Austin hopes changes like these won’t become a trend throughout the industry.
This week the bank announced a slew of changes to its compensation model, with a shift to greater rewards for efficiency but a de-emphasis on volume. More specifically…
“They changed the volume bonus from 20 to 10 and that’s the lowest of anybody we send business to. Just commissions in general are going down on their one-year, 10-year and all-in-one product,” she said. “Everything that came out is basically a reduction of money they’re going to pay brokers. Hopefully we don’t see any other lenders following suit.”
However, not all brokers are lamenting the changes – especially considering the bank still offers proprietary offerings largely unique in the channel.
“I don’t think the changes that National Bank are bringing in are that intrusive; as long as you are achieving the volume levels needed, I’m not seeing an intrusive change,” Ross Thorstad, co-owner of Verico Mortgage Depot, told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “They’ve got the ‘All in One’ for refinancing clients that allows you to pay down the mortgage and, as long as you are within the cap of 65 per cent, it allows you to still access the line of credit borrowing limit.
“Other lenders offer a similar product but every dollar you pay on the mortgage, you don’t retain the borrowing limit.”
