Weekend wrap: MFAA CEO resigns

Making news this week, the MFAA will take their time appointing a new CEO after Hayden’s short tenure; APRA is dialling up bank scrutiny on commercial real estate lending; and experts debate UK/Aussie mortgage comparisons

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The MFAA will take their time appointing a new CEO after Hayden’s short tenure; APRA is dialling up bank scrutiny on commercial real estate lending and experts debate UK/ Aussie mortgage comparisons.

The MFAA announced the resignation of CEO Siobhan Hayden, citing strategic differences as the reason for Siobhan Hayden’s short tenure.  She took over from long term CEO Phil Naylor in October of 2014.

“I’m proud of what I’ve achieved in the role and think the mortgage broking industry is well positioned into the future,” Hayden said.

The MFAA told Australian Broker they would reassess what they are looking for in a replacement CEO with a decision not expected to be announced until the end of the year.

APRA announced it would be dialling up bank scrutiny on commercial real estate lending this week after national apartment oversupply was estimated at over 70,000. Executive general manager for supervisory support Charles Littrell said the regulator was turning up the pressure, saying it’s not a bad time to see banks strengthen the equity position of their balance sheets.

“In 1990 the four major banks had 40% of the banking market; now they’ve got 80%,” he said.

“They’re all in the same business model, they’re all hugely exposed to each other ... and we don’t quite know what would happen if that business model gets whacked by external stress all at once. 
“So there is a lot of conventional work at our end – focusing on sound lending and in fact now we’re dialling up our systemic supervisory focus on commercial real estate.”

Comparisons with the UK mortgage market are “incredibly misleading”, MoneyQuest managing director Michael Russell has said.

At the FBAA National Tour last week, former Barclays CEO of mortgages Steve Weston said ASIC would question the fact that Australia is one of the last markets in the world to pay trail commissions to brokers.

“The other big, big difference is on remuneration – and that is something we should be concerned about with ASIC because regulators will speak to their international counterparts,” Weston told brokers.
 

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