Broker volumes leaped 8.2% in the second quarter (Q2) 2012, versus Q2 2011.

As usual, lenders jockeyed hard for position. This time around, 3rd and 5th place were separated by just 10 basis points of market share.

The following data are snippets of second-quarter performance from our market’s top 10 lenders. The figures come from Davis + Henderson’s latest lender market share report.

The Big 5

1)  Scotiabank (SMA) 
20.2% market share, +2.6 ppsYOY
Scotia can thank FirstLine for exiting the channel. That makes Scotia the lender to beat. In Q2, the bank re-launched its “Ultimate” 3-year variable-rate mortgage.

2)  First National
18.9% market share, +6.1 pps YOY
First National can thank FirstLine even more, with a spectacular 4.3 percentage points (pps) share gain versus the prior quarter. Also in the quarter, the company cut its conventional amortization to 30 years and featured an attractive 3.99% 10-year term.

3)  TD Canada Trust
7.8% share, -5.7 pps YOY
TD backs into 3rd place, gaining little share from the prior quarter. Its pullback in channel volume is definitely making some brokers nervous. It still serves some key product niches but only its top brokers consistently get good pricing. In Q2, TD eliminated its rate premium on equity lending, after significantly tightening equity lending guidelines in February.

4)  Street Capital
7.7% share, +2.8 pps YOY
Street’s volumes dropped slightly, quarter over quarter. It axed conventional rentals, stated income deals, 35-year conventional amortizations, and CMHC insurance on conventional mortgages. On a positive note, the company launched “Street Options” non-prime lending in April.

5)  MCAP
7.7% share, +1.5 pps YOY
MCAP picked up 1.4 pps of share since Q1 but remained in 5th spot. It had a solid 3.99% 10-year fixed offer.

The Balance of the Top 10

6)  Home Trust
5.6% share, +0.8 pps YOY
With “B” business as its focus, Home shed 80 basis points of share versus Q1.

7)  National Bank of Canada
4.5% share, +0.3 pps YOY
NBC didn’t seem to benefit from the FirstLine debacle, losing 0.8 pps quarter over quarter. It launched one of the best efficiency programs in the industry, raising the income of brokers with excellent approval ratios and approval-to-fund ratios. It also imposed stricter gross debt service (GDS) ratio guidelines on conventional mortgages.

8)  ING Direct
4.1% share, +0.1 pps YOY
ING’s 10-year fixed was (and continues to be) the best in the market. Sadly, ING reduced its automated online rate holds from 120 to 30 days, largely crippling this valuable tool.

9)  FirstLine Mortgages
4.0% share, –10.5 pps YOY
The drawn-out decline of a once-great lender continued. At one time, FirstLine was closing almost 1 in 3 broker channel mortgages.

10)  Merix Financial
2.9% share, +0.1 pps YOY
Merix re-launched its Lendwise brand with everyday low pricing and four compensation tiers based on volume. Merix also eliminated its niche 40-year amortization on conventional mortgages.

Other Movers

• British Columbia’s Coast Capital Savings was the top credit union in the broker market, vaulting into 12th place with a 219% quarter-over-quarter volume increase.
• ICICI’s market share exploded 931.5% year over year. It’s got some of the best 5-year fixed pricing in the business.

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Source: D+H puts out a terrific, non-public report called Lender Insights, which compiles lender market share data in the mortgage broker industry. We receive data from that report via 3rd party sources and have quoted it here. This data is not confirmed, but is believed reliable.

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Rob McLister, CMT