Mortgage Broker Qualifications

Some countries currently do not require qualifications, but only credit ratings from various banking institutions and creditors. Some states require a Certificate IV in Finance Broking. WA requires Cert IV and supplementary surveys as well as consumer protection authority certification by the state authorities. Movements are underway to implement a nationwide standards base on the WA requirement, but that's still a while away and if you're not cautious, a Sydney cabbie will try to book you for a mortgage when you get out of the terminal.

However, since all state law on consumer loans, business loans, data protection, disclosures, trade rules, etc. is different from British law and given that the approach of the banking sector to granting loans is very different from that of British banking, all your British education is not relevant.

Do low qualifications required of mortgage advisors pose a threat to clients?

While the mortgage sector is preparing for the introduction of stricter regulations under the executive management regimes, the discussion has focused on whether it is right for brokerage firms to be lower qualified than advisors. The lenders would argue that the government is in jeopardy of establishing a "two-tier system" for mortgage advisory services if it does not involve the brokerage system.

From RDR onwards, consultants must complete QCF up to the fourth stage, which is approximately the first year of a higher education diploma. Mortgage advisors are, however, only obliged to reach the third CeMap stage, which corresponds to the A stage. Lea Karasavvas, Prolific Mortgage Finance's managing Director, says: "There should be a prerequisite for higher qualifications in the sector.

One cannot have a two-tier system where the bank has a range of rules and the intermediary has a different one. "To achieve this, the caliber of those offering this kind of guidance should be extraordinarily high. It'?s discrediting the business and the job.

Clark is careful, however, when it comes to proposing that Tier Four should be established as a new floor for all mortgage advisors.