"At the end of the day, if we can’t do a deal, we want to make sure that we still assist them"
With mounting interest rates and decelerating markets making an impact this year, Canadians are seeking out more and more loans outside the Big Six banks – a development that has spurred alternative lenders like Equitable Bank.
For Joe Flor, associate vice president of national partner relations at Equitable Bank, the assistance that alternative lenders provide does not end at the transaction table.
“At the end of the day, if we can’t do a deal, we want to make sure that we still assist them in getting that deal done somewhere, because not every broker is versed in all the lenders out there,” Flor told Canadian Mortgage Professional. “We are tabling a lot of ideas to help with the affordability issues and hopefully help our brokers get their clients into homeownership because that’s always been our mission as a challenger bank.”
In Equitable’s case, this is rooted in the culture that the bank has cultivated.
“Our mindset is always trying to be efficient and making the experience that much better for our broker partners so that continues to be our main focus,” Flor said. “Really driving that philosophy of ‘the challenger bank’ is what we’re continually looking towards.”
Read more: How should brokers educate clients on alternative solutions?
This strategy helps cultivate a versatile knowledge pool that will be ultimately for the benefit of the consumer, Flor argued.
“We’re not all, you know, cut from the same cloth anymore,” he said. “Everyone’s got their own sort of niches and different, different solutions available. And I think it’s important to really recognize that and understand it so that you can please your clients with the best solution available.”
To learn more about the current trends in various mortgage lending spaces, click here.
