Mortgage broker volumes inched 1.9% higher in the first quarter, according to data from D+H. That data also showed that non-deposit-taking lenders have taken the lead back from banks in broker volume.
The ones racking up market share gains weren’t deposit takers, however. Non-prime and credit union lenders took that distinction, posting 17.4% and 12.6% broker volume growth respectively, year-over-year.
Here’s a rundown of the other Q1 market share data:
These are the current market share leaders in the broker space, as of Q1 2014…
| Rank | Lender | Market Share* |
12 Mo |
| 1 | Scotiabank | 18.2% |
-120 bps |
| 2 | First National | 14.6% |
+150 bps |
| 3 | Home Trust | 10.1% |
+180 bps |
| 4 | Street Capital | 10.1% |
-260 bps |
| 5 | TD Canada Trust | 8.1% |
+70 bps |
| 6 | MCAP | 6.6% |
-320 bps |
| 7 | National Bank | 5.1% |
+100 bps |
| 8 | RMG Mortgages | 4.1% |
+190 bps |
| 9 | Merix Financial | 3.6% |
-40 bps |
| 10 | Equitable Bank | 3.5% |
+100 bps |
Quick takes:
- Notable share gainers were:
- RMG Mortgages (up 190 bps thanks to excellent rates, a popular Low-Rate Basic product and its semi-exclusive 35-year amortizations)
- Home Trust (up 180 bps due partly to market-wide growth in alternative mortgages and, to a lesser extent, its re-emergence in insured lending)
- Notable droppers included:
- MCAP (down 320 bps of share — It has been far out of the rate market)
- Street Capital (down 260 bps, which we can’t explain)
- Outside of the top 10, conspicuous movers included Canadiana Financial (which got back in the game, up 70 bps) and Bridgewater (which has sunk to an almost irrelevant 0.2% share).
- In the last year, the ratio of fixed-rate mortgages has slid considerably. As of Q1, 71-72% of brokered mortgages had fixed rates. That compares to the peak of roughly 93% in June 2013.
* Broker Market 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 third-party sources and have quoted it here. The data above is not confirmed, but is believed reliable. Note: These market share figures are not perfect because they don’t count MorWeb volumes (D+H’s smaller competitor).
Rob McLister, CMT (email)
MCAP and RMG are the same company. I don’t understand how they can be going in such opposite directions.
They are the same company but different approach. RMG continues to thrive because of the LRB and the extended amortization that MCAP does not offer. Labeling the LRB as a no-frills type of mortgage is somewhat misleading because as long as the client remains with RMG the penalties are standard and the 35-year amortization option is a great cash flow tool for first-time buyers. Then there is the service. For instance, our RMG BDM calls me with rate reductions on live deals. A lender that is proactively looking to save its clients money.
MCAP is the parent company and RMG is is its own separate division. Different guidelines, different products etc. Just because one is owned by someone else does not mean they operate and will succeed the same. By the availability of more lenders/brands it provides more resources and options to the broker/consumer channel.
Also to reconfirm – RMG LRB product is not like many of the other products out there in the market . The following restrictions apply:
– Mortgage is not assumable
– No Blend and Extend Options (Port Increase)
– 5 year fixed – Penalty if broken is the greater of either 3% of the mortgage balance remaining OR an IRD
-5 year variable – Penalty if broken is 3% of the mortgage balance.
Please note that although there are definitely much better penalty clauses than 3.00% of balance available in the marketplace the truth is that many Big 6 Bank IRD penalties are 3.00% or more when it comes to breaking fixed rate mortgages. The last 4 penalties I looked at from Big 6 banks were 2.60% , 3.10%, 3.80% and 4.20% of the mortgage balance. While I am NOT saying 3.00% of balance is a good penalty deal I would point out that a lot worse is highly available from the institutions that represent 78% of the mortgage business in this country.
I agree with you Ron the Big Bank are actually higher as they a more convoluted way of calculating their IRD and a lot of consumers or brokers are not fully aware of this. I guess this comes down to educating one another so we are aware of what we are putting our clients into at the end of the day.