ASIC suffered a third embarrassing courtroom loss this week, but the soon to be credit regulator, appears equally out of touch when it comes to licensing of mortgage brokers.
The corporate watchdog saw its case against mining magnate Andrew Forrest and his Fortescue Metals Group rejected by the federal court yesterday and following failed actions against AWB and One.Tel in recent months.
It could be argued, there was a fourth failure, when in licensing guidance released last week ASIC revealed that as part of "transition arrangements" it would give brokers up until 30 June 2014 to obtain their Certificate IV qualification.
The move stunned the MFAA with its CEO Phil Naylor saying no credible organisation would have supported such a timeframe - the MFAA wanted just a six month transition.
The decision to give such a ridiculous length of time to obtain such a basic qualification is a real kick in the teeth for not only the MFAA (which expelled 1,500 brokers in September for failure to complete their Cert IV by 1 July) but for all professional and ethical brokers expecting licensing to raise the bar and giving consumers more confidence in their credentials.
How does ASIC propose to keep the rogues out the industry when there is no minimum educational requirement for the first four years of licensing?
Even if you put that question aside, its decision makes little sense given that most lenders, aggregators, industry bodies and franchise groups already require brokers to hold Cert IV for membership and accreditation purposes.
ASIC...please explain?
Related stories:
Brokers given until mid-2014 to get Cert IV - Under transition arrangements released by ASIC, brokers and their representatives now have until 30 June 2014 to obtain a Certificate IV qualification