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• MPA Online

A panel of industry commentators have joined together to extol the virtues of the new national licensing regime - as long as the compliance burden does not get too onerous.

In an exclusive discussion recorded by Broker News TV, FAST managing director Steve Kane, Resi head of consumer advocacy Lisa Montgomery, Mortgage Choice national manager of non-core products Simon Dehne, and FirstMac chief financial officer James Austin all argue licensing will benefit the industry.

To view the full panel discussion - covering a wider range of issues - go to Broker News TV.

FAST's Kane said the group had just completed a survey of its broker network, asking their views about legislation, and 78% of respondents agreed it was a positive move for "professionalism".

"For the profession itself, being recognised as a true profession in the marketplace we think is going to be very, very positive - albeit we just need to guard against overcomplicating the system like we did with the FSRA [Financial Services Reform Act]", Kane said.

The panel warned specifically about the possibility of the statement of advice concept from FSRA legislation being duplicated across the mortgage industry. "We really don't need an 80 page statement of advice for a mortgage loan," Kane said.

Resi's Montgomery said licensing "is such a positive move for the industry", and will see mortgages lifted to become the new wealth creation tool of borrowers, assisting with investment strategies.

"We have needed to lift our profession from where it was sitting, up into a professional opportunity for people to move into and practice in the industry," Montgomery said.

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