Executive on the qualities that make the broker channel a strong asset for the company
This article was produced in partnership with Marathon Mortgage.
Fergal McAlinden, of Canadian Mortgage Professional, spoke with Marathon Mortgage president and CEO Albert Collu on the reasons the company deals exclusively in the broker channel.
While it’s common to hear lenders mention how much they value their relationships with Canada’s mortgage broker community, a less-frequently-answered question is this: Why do some lenders choose to deal exclusively with brokers, instead of directly with consumers?
For Marathon Mortgage president and CEO Albert Collu (pictured), a range of reasons stand out for operating solely in the broker channel – not least for the fact that working with brokers allows lenders to streamline their process and bring about a quicker, more efficient sales cycle.
Brokers help remove a lot of the process of interactions with the end consumer for lenders, and can also ensure that deals fund within relatively short timeframes. That may not be the case when dealing directly with consumers, Collu said.
The broker also helps handle some of the crucial conversations that lenders would otherwise have to undertake with borrowers, such as discussion of product and collection of documentation.
“We hold the view that the broker is quite valuable in not just an economic and efficient process, but we also really respect their ability to educate the client and put them into a suitable environment in terms of product and rate,” Collu told Canadian Mortgage Professional.
That ability of brokers to guide their clients through difficult and increasingly complex times has been illustrated over the past two and a half years, with the COVID-19 pandemic bringing about a series of new challenges and opportunities alike for homeowners and would-be buyers.
It’s a testament to the robustness of the broker channel, Collu said, that it’s been able to play such a crucial role not just during the unprecedented market conditions of recent years, but equally in other times of upheaval including changes to the qualifying rate, insurer guidelines, and regulatory changes, to name a few.
“The broker channel continues to show its perseverance and its resilience. Not only did we come out of those times, but I would argue that we have flourished,” he noted. “I’ve often said about the broker channel that we should be very mindful not to complain when things get complicated, because times like that really reposition the broker as an expert.
“When there’s all this white noise and uncertainty, people will turn their heads to experts – and I absolutely say that brokers are experts in their fields.”
What’s more, as consumers seek even more authoritative guidance in a complex market environment – for instance, among the first-time homebuyer cohort of borrowers – the expertise and knowledge of brokers comes to the fore.
“The consumer that is more educated is looking for more educated guidance,” Collu said. “It’s got to be a broker that they’re going to. So it all comes back to why we value a broker.”
Brokers to the fore
Having joined Marathon just over two years ago and initiated a top-to-bottom rebuild since then, Collu placed mortgage brokers front and centre of the restructuring, an acknowledgement of the crucial role they play for the company’s business.
Prior to those changes, it was rare for repeat business to come through the door – but now, multiple fundings by the same broker in the same month are commonplace, Collu said, something that’s a source of immense satisfaction to Marathon. “I don’t know that the company can have a better sense of reward,” he added.
“Brokers have sent us countless emails and calls to say that they really respect that we throw our hat right in the ring with them when they’re having a tough time with a file, and we’ll step up to make things right and support them to get that deal done.
“When we get emails to say that very few competitors take that approach, it means something to us. I think brokers are learning that we value them so much, and they’re starting to value those moments when they need us most.”
Looking ahead
As the mortgage landscape continues to evolve, the broker channel will shift and adapt to those changes, Collu said – something it’s proven well able to cope with throughout previous times of transition.
“During a relatively short chronological timeline, we’ve gone from paper applications to electronic applications to people sitting on their couch filling in an application on their phone,” he explained. “When they reach out to a broker, it’s very different than it was 15 years ago.”
Consumers now generally have a basic understanding of the product and rates when they contact their broker, Collu said, with more onus now on the broker to explain those in more depth and provide real value in articulating the options available to their clients.
As ever, the ability of brokers to find a solution to even the most challenging circumstances remains one of their top selling points, and among the foremost reasons that many lenders ultimately choose to deal with them directly.
“I don’t think brokers get enough credit for how adaptable and on top of their game they must be,” he said. “Brokers really need to be acknowledged because they can really get clients out of very stressful situations. That’s the kind of expertise and resilience I’m talking about where their value is really pronounced.”
Albert Collu is president and CEO of Marathon Mortgage, a Canadian mortgage lender.
