Licence renewal more than 'ticking boxes'
By
Adam Smith
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30/11/2011 6:00:00 AM
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4
comments
ACL renewal may be a simple process, but it’s more than just “ticking boxes”, Advantedge’s Steve Weston has said.
As the first round of credit licenses comes up for renewal, Weston has told Australian BrokerNews licensees will need to be certain they have the documentation to back up their renewal applications. Though the renewal process is easy, Weston said, ASIC will be carefully scrutinising the claims of licensees.
“I have had feedback from brokers who hold their own licenses to say the renewal process is simple. There’s nothing to it, and if you just tick the boxes, you did right. But ASIC have made it very clear they are going to be reviewing the annual compliance certificates and they will be coming to speak to licence holders to say, ‘You’ve ticked the boxes to say you have these policies and processes in place, have these manuals in place. Show them to me.’ Now that’s where the rubber hits the road,” he said.
With this in mind, licensees will have to regularly review their compliance, Weston commented.
“Unless you’re reviewing your policies and procedures and manuals regularly, it’s not enough to say ‘I’ve ticked the boxes, there’s nothing to it. What are you talking about?’” he said.
Weston predicted that a large portion of the industry may begin to eschew holding as ACL in favour of credit representative status. He argued that status as a credit representative does not diminish the value of broker businesses.
“Initially some quarters of the broking industry were saying if you held your own licence it would mean your business is going to be worth more than if you were a credit rep. That simply isn’t true. The fact is no one I know of, if they’re getting good legal advice, would buy a business’ licence, because they’re buying all the liability. They only want to buy the assets,” Weston said.
Weston pointed to the financial planning industry, contending that as compliance came to bear the majority of financial planners moved toward dealer groups. He forecast that this move could be mirrored in the broking industry as ACL holders move toward becoming credit reps under an aggregator licence.
“If I really, truly understand the obligation of holding a licence and I’m not just ticking boxes, there’s more to it. It’s a much more onerous obligation than we’ve been led to believe,” he said.
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Latest Comments
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comment(s)
Country Broker on
30 Nov 2011 11:19 AM
Steve Weston could well be correc , however Advantedge have always pushed their Aggregator groups they own towards the Credit Rep model , it simply give them more control and at $140.00 per month per representative fees it is also lucrative. Still he could be correct !
Sally on
30 Nov 2011 11:41 AM
You can't buy a licence whether someone would like to or not, ASIC don't allow it, you can only buy the business, no different than when you buy any business. As a credit rep you normally have to offer your trail book to the aggregator for first refusal, as a licensee you can sell it to anyone. As a credit rep you can only offer products that the licensee has on their panel and knowing the large licensee holders like we all do, we know that down the track, these products will be weighted toward the benefit of the licensee. This is no different to how MFAA are controlled by the lenders, the big licensees will be controlled by the lenders. We know there isn't that much difference today, but we also know that large corporations don't worry about today, they are planning for tomorrow and the individual Licensee should think beyond what they can see today.Brokers need to be wondering what is in it for the Aggregators to be collecting numbers of Credit Reps, they certainly aren't doing it for the broker.
SteveOz on
30 Nov 2011 01:33 PM
Banks own the aggregators, who push their brokers to be credit reps. This way they have more control. Banks also lobby the Government which brought about NCCP in the first place, and weighted it heavily in the Banks favor. No consporacy theory here......just facts. It's just like every corporotocracy. Consumer CANT benefit from this in the long run.
ozboy on
30 Nov 2011 04:27 PM
No I don't think this is correct, if you offer your business for sale as a licensee you will have a documented process for most facets (if not all) of your business. If you are a credit rep then you don't need this you just follow someone else's and only for writing loans. Which would you pay more money for.