Are broker channel lenders ready to fight the big banks on the prime side?
Equitable Bank has expanded its operations into a new market and, perhaps most interesting for brokers, it has increased commitment to the prime lending sector.
“From our perspective it’s good when we’re given more options,” Jim Walker of Mortgage Intelligence told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “Lenders had to adjust to B-20 and B-21 and it’s nice that a lender has changed its appetite (by offering more prime options) and hopefully more will follow.”
Equitable Bank recently announced its expansion into Vancouver, but it’s the lender’s commitment to the prime sector that has brokers talking.
"Equitable Bank has served single family residential borrowers and their mortgage agents/brokers in the Lower Mainland for the past five years. As an alternative lender experiencing growing demands, it's now time for us to enhance our commitment to the market," Andrew Moor, President and Chief Executive Officer said in an official release. "Accordingly, we've opened a regional office dedicated to Single Family Lending Services that houses our underwriting and sales team.
“We've also expanded our product suite with the introduction of the Equitable Bank evolution suite of prime mortgages,” Moor continued. “By enhancing the Bank's presence and products, we are expanding our effectiveness and commitment to providing outstanding service to our broker network."
It’s this increased focus on prime mortgage that the lender hopes will give brokers even more options to better compete with the big banks, which have long been considered the number one destination for buyers seeking prime products.
"The introduction of our Prime mortgage suite means that single family borrowers and mortgage brokers in the Lower Mainland can now look beyond Canada's Big Six to a bank that takes a decidedly more service-oriented approach to doing business," Martin Beaudry, Director, Prime Residential Mortgages Underwriting said in the release. "As a Bank that competes without branches, our success as a lender rests squarely on service excellence, which makes us different and we believe more responsive to our customers whether they are shopping for a prime or alternative mortgage."
