The Mortgage Brokers Association of British Columbia gathered yesterday to pick a new leader and board of directors for the coming year.
The Mortgage Brokers Association of British Columbia gathered yesterday to pick a new leader and board of directors for the coming year.
Ajay Soni, the senior mortgage broker with Invis, was selected to guide MBABC through 2013-14, taking over the reins from outgoing president Jared Dreyer.
“I intend to make a difference in the B.C. broker industry and take the profession of mortgage broker in B.C. to the position it rightfully deserves,” says Soni. “Collectively, the new MBABC Board possesses a wealth of industry knowledge and will leverage it to build a stronger MBABC and more dynamic and professional industry.”
Dreyer is optimistic the newly elected board will bring new vitality to the association.
“I believe the new board and executive of the MBABC bring enthusiasm, passion and experience for the B.C. mortgage broker,” says Dreyer. “I am very excited about the future of MBABC in supporting the ‘broker of B.C.’ to be the best that he/she can be.”
A UBC graduate, Soni has been a mortgage broker since 1988, receiving an MBA in 1990 and first joining the MBABC board of directors in 1990, having served on the board three times.
But his proudest moments have been sharing his knowledge with other brokers.
“I have been an instructor for the Applied Information Course (AIC) for the past 13,” says Soni. “I am proud to have taught and influenced several generations of mortgage brokers.”
Soni received a service excellence award in 2005 from the MBABC.
Dreyer was at the helm to witness the red-hot B.C. housing market go stone cold within the span of a year as tighter amortization rules and a much-overdue housing price correction finally took hold of the Lower Mainland.
Despite the economic downturn, Dreyer – alongside CEO Smantha Gale – helped transform the association into a strong advocate for brokers’ rights, spearheading the Western Canadian education platform, creating Legal Expense Insurance for its members, and convincing the B.C. Securities Commission to extend talks on that province’s MIC regulations.
Gale describes Soni as one of B.C.’s most experienced mortgage brokers.
“Since 2005, Soni has been one of the B.C. directors on the CAAMP board and will complete his fourth and final term this August,” says Gale. “He has chaired the CAAMP communications committee for seven years, has been on the CAAMP executive as treasurer and chaired the government relations committee. He is well known for the work done for B.C. brokers over his 25 year career.”
The new board members for 2013-14 are Kelly Curtis, Deenu Patel, Loren Hawkins, Troy Resvick, Deb White, Jason Suttie, Kevyn Oyhenart, Bruce Kahkesh, Karl Madsen and Megan McDonald.
