MFAA celebrates 14k membership milestone

Members include brokers; mortgage managers; aggregators/franchise groups; lenders/funders; mortgage insurers; trustees and other support services; non-loan writers (for example, loan administrators); and students (such as those undertaking their certificate IV or diploma in mortgage broking).

The chief executive of the association, Mike Felton, commented: “Our record membership comes alongside continued record market share as an industry. 

“With close to 60 per cent of all new mortgages being written by brokers, and brokers increasingly assisting small businesses, it’s clear our members provide a valuable service to the community.

“I’d like to thank all our members for upholding the MFAA standards and being active participants in the association. Without your support and hard work, we wouldn’t be in the position we are today to defend and promote your role in our economy, and the value and competition you provide for your customers, and for all Australian home buyers.” 

The body noted that the growth in its membership was “critically important” in strengthening the association’s ability to continue investing in broker advocacy, professional development, research (such as its Opportunities for Women initiative, Industry Intelligence Service reports and Quarterly Market Share data), mental health initiatives and “many other activities that benefit members and the industry”. 

Mr Felton continued: “Our record membership further strengthens our ability to continue our strong advocacy and defense of the industry as we approach a further review of mortgage broker remuneration by the Council of Financial Regulators and the ACCC in 2022.  

“Whilst we have already conducted considerable advocacy work in preparing for 2022 and feel that reforms and strong industry data leave our industry well-positioned to confidently lean into the impending scrutiny, we’re pleased that the association is well placed to mount another campaign such as the ‘Don’t Kill Competition’ campaign should it be deemed necessary,” Mr Felton said. 

The milestone comes as the broking industry continues to grow.

The MFAA’s 12th edition of its Intelligence Service Report (IIS), which draws on data supplied by 12 aggregators over the six months from 1 October 2020 to 31 March 2021, found that the broker industry population operating under these 12 groups had continued to grow to reach 16,968 brokers. This marked the second consecutive period of growth since September 2018.

The Finance Brokers Association of Australia (FBAA) has also released data suggesting that the total number of brokers in Australia is increasing. It estimates that there were 19,683 registered credit representatives in Australia in the calendar year 2020, up from 17,881 in 2019.

Earlier this month, the Finance Brokers Association of Australia revealed that FBAA membership at the end of financial year 2021 had increased by 10.8 per cent on the previous year, passing the 9,400 mark in October. According to the FBAA, the vast majority of these members were “customer-facing brokers”. 

[Related: Broker numbers are rising: FBAA]