Warning of AFSL complexity distorting mortgage broking
The Federal Government has been warned not to make the licensing requirements for mortgage brokers so cumbersome and onerous that they drive out small practitioners.
The call has come from the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia in a submission to the Government on the legislative framework making up the proposed new National Consumer Credit Protection Bill.
The chief executive of the MFAA, Phil Naylor, said that while his organisation was satisfied with the overall thrust of the legislation, it needed to recognise that the vast majority of mortgage brokers practising today were small operators.
“We need the Government to ensure that the licensing requirements are not cumbersome or onerous and do not prevent these small operators from staying in business,” he said.
Naylor said it was important to ensure that the new consumer credit laws did not fall into the trap of being as complex as the existing Australian Financial Services Licensing processes.
“The complexity of the AFSL process militates against the licensing of small operators – a situation we need to avoid in order to promote competition and consumer choice,” he said.
AUTHOR
Mike Taylor
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