To The Pointwith Boris Bozic
Commentary, Opinions, Thoughts and Discussion on Current Events, Politics and The Mortgage Industry
I’m in Quebec City today to chair my last CAAMP Board meeting. Where has the time gone? I have on more official function to serve, the annual AGM in October, and one ceremonial event, Mortgage Form 2012, before passing on the torch to our Vice-Chair, Daryl Harris.
I had dinner with Daryl last night to discuss association issues. He asked me if chairing my last board meeting was bitter sweet. My answer was, no. It’s time. For this association to grow and and evolve requires fresh ideas. My time chair has been rewarding on so many fronts, but now it’s Daryl’s time to lead the board. I know Daryl will do an outstanding job as chair. My role on the executive next year is that of Past-Chair, and the Past-Chair’s primary role is to stay out of the Chair’s way. There to be called upon for council and advise but the leadership and vision will be in Daryl’s hands come October.
Before I pass the torch on to Daryl, one of the most important events during the calendar year has to take place, CAAMP Board elections. A number of CAAMP Board members are up for re-election and many have stated that their intention is to run again. To those board members who have decided to run again, I wish you all the best. You served our members with distinction, and you made a contribution. For those members who have decided to run, you’re to be commended. Fighting for the right to volunteer your time is truly admirable.
Until next time
Cheers
Read More Add a Comment“What makes this award a little sweeter is that the CAAMP Mortgage Forum 2011 beat out two large American conferences.”
I had a new blog all crafted and ready to be posted today but I had to set it aside. Why? Because I received some fantastic news on Monday morning that I had to share. CAAMP Mortgage Forum 2011 was the recipient of another award over the weekend. This is now the second award that the CAAMP Mortgage Forum 2011 has received. The most recent award was from the International Events Society. The ISES awarded CAAMP the “Best Meeting Conference over $250K”. What makes this award a little sweeter is that the CAAMP Mortgage Forum 2011 beat out two large American conferences. The sense of pride and accomplishment has nothing to do with an inferiority complex. We can do anything as well as they do South of the boarder and given the state of our respective economies we’ve demonstrated that we can do a lot of things better north of the 49th parallel. What makes this a little sweeter for me is based solely on the fact that Canada’s Woman soccer team lost to the US woman’s team over the weekend at the London Olympics. The loss was a direct result of shameful officiating and the referee in charge of the match should never be allowed to officiate a match of such significance again. It was gut wrenching to watch our gal’s come out on the short end because of an officials ineptitude. Our Woman’s soccer team have dedicated years of training for this moment, and as far as I’m concerned, they’re true champions.
Okay, I’ll get off on one soap-box to jump on another. We won, hands down fair and square! I’m so proud of the staff at CAAMP. Putting a conference together like ours takes extraordinary effort. It’s easy to take for granted the work that is required to pull off an event of this magnitude. The truth is the CAAMP staff has spoiled us a little. It’s easy to assume that every conference is like ours and that every conference is as cost effective as ours. As someone who’s attended many conferences outside of Canada, I can honestly say that we’re very fortunate. From sheer size to quality and cost, we are the best. And now we have some hardware to prove it. Take a bow Michael Ellenzweig, Cara Shulman, Alison Cousland, the organizing committee and all the staff at CAAMP for making it happen. Most importantly, thank you to all the Mortgage Forum sponsors, and those who attended. Without your collective support the conference doesn’t happen.
Thanks to our sponsors, Mortgage Forum 2012 in Vancouver promises to be bigger and better. Hopefully I’ll see you in Vancouver from November 25 -27, 2012.
Link to Mortgage Forum 2012 Conference site
Until next time,
Cheers.
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By the time this blog is posted, I’ll be somewhere over the Pacific Ocean heading towards Sydney, Australia. My final destination is Adelaide, Australia. The purpose of the journey is to attend the Mortgage & Finance Association of Australia National Conference. It’s a long, a very long way, to go to attend a conference. By the time you read this blog, I will be well into my 22 hour flight and, I suspect, I will be going a little stir crazy. I’ve traveled a number of times to Europe, but an 8 hour flight to Europe is like a walk around the block compared to “going down under.” It’s a trip I always wanted to make, but I always found a reason to put it off. Must be the thought of been cramped in a tin can for 22 hours. But now, there was definitive time and reason to go. The MFAA is Australia’s equivalent of CAAMP. As much as I’m delighted to remove an item from my bucket list, going to Australia, the primary purpose of the visit is to represent CAAMP, and to go for my own personal development.
Canada and Australia are similar in many ways; specifically as it relates to the mortgage industry, an oligopoly exists in both countries, but the big difference is the disappearance of mono-lines in Australia. That was a result of the credit crisis of 2008, or as the Aussie’s like to say, the GSS (Global Shit Storm). The mortgage industry in Australia changed significantly post-2008. As mentioned, mono-lines became a footnote in the annals of the mortgage lending history in Australia. Given limited competition, broker commissions where significantly reduced. The four major banks in Australia now control 90% of the broker market share. The banks imposed proficiency exams on brokers to do business with them, at a cost of $750 to write the exam. The major banks took an equity position in some of the larger broker house’s in Australia, and they exercise their influence and control by way of board seats. Yet, for all the challenges the Australian broker market has faced since the GSS, they still control a 40% market share. That’s what I find fascinating. The Canadian broker market came out relatively unscathed after 2008, and yet broker market share in Canada is not growing. The data would suggest that broker market share in Canada is actually contracting; so what is it about Australian broker market that enables them not only maintain their market share but actually grow it? That’s going to be the first question I ask of any stakeholder in Australia. I hope to garner some insights and to see if there’s some practical application to our market, given examples from Australia.
What I’m really looking forward to is talking to lenders and brokers who fully embrace a trailer fee model. Brokers and lenders in Australia are vested and fully committed to this model. So what I hope to gleam is, how did they get there? I believe the trailer fee model is now accepted by the broker community in Canada. It’s no longer viewed as the boogieman or the great unknown. In large part this is due to Merix’s commitment towards this compensation model, and it pioneering of the trailer fee model. Many lenders talked about in the past but Merix actually did it. I commend all the broker lenders in Canada that have created a hybrid of the Merix model. Lenders in Canada can call them renewal fees if they like but the fact is prior to Merix, lenders were not paying on renewal. My hope is that every lender jumps on board and helps to create future value for mortgage brokers in Canada. Who knows, maybe one day Aussie brokers and lenders will ask us, how did you do it?
Until next time
Cheers
Not long ago CAAMP’s Chief Economists, Will Dunning, said to me that economists base their forecasts on their personality.
All of us at some point have said, “I can’t believe what I just saw”. One example is if the Toronto Maple Leafs ever win the Stanley Cup. The conscious mind would not to be able to accept something so outrageous and beyond the realm of possibility. It is so much easier to believe in something that you never see – like all things religious. Religion is purely based on faith and actual scientific evidence is, well, scarce to say the least. Yet, people believe. So how is it that something as simple as economic data makes some economists disbelievers? That’s exactly what’s happening today; they see the data but they don’t believe it.
I find it fascinating that economists are saying Canada’s job creation numbers should not be taken at face value. Over the last two months, Canada has added more jobs than in any other two-month period in the last 31 years, with approximately 140,500 jobs added in March and April. Also, more full time permanent positions were added, meaning more Canadian workers will benefit from employer healthcare benefits. That’s fantastic news! It’s reason to celebrate! But no, economists are suggesting the employment numbers are not sustainable and our job numbers are uneven. As for sustainability, no kidding! But I guess if they say that often enough they’ll eventually be right. As for the numbers being uneven – Alberta, for example, has the hottest job market today, while Ontario lags behind the rest of the country – that’s another debate all together. Ontario’s most recent numbers are clear evidence that the province needs real leadership. What was once the economic engine of Canada has now been reduced to the nation’s punch line. Ontario aside, there’s great news for the rest of the country. Quebec? Everyone was under the impression that the province was headed for another recession. Low and behold, the job numbers in Quebec are rising. Companies are looking for experienced workers – evident in the fact that more people aged 55 and older are being hired. Youth unemployment is still an issue, and Canada’s jobless rate ticked up a bit to 7.3%. That being said, Obama would kill for those numbers heading into the presidential elections.
Canada’s job figures appear to have caught many economists by surprise. The question is why? How can those in “the know” now claim that these numbers came out of nowhere. Of course, they can make that claim, but if they continue to get caught off-guard, their future predictions will fall on deaf ears.
Not long ago CAAMP’s Chief Economists, Will Dunning, said to me that economists base their forecasts on their personality. They’re either optimists or pessimists, and their forecasts will reflect their normal disposition. Based on their recent track record, maybe there should be a third category –Illusionist.
Until next time.
Cheers
How many times have you heard, “it’s just an honour to be nominated“. What rubbish! If you’re going to be nominated for an award you want the hardware. A nomination gives you hope and the trophy is the validation. We all need, and like, the validation. Those who say it doesn’t matter are being disingenuous. Even if the sentiment is sincere why wouldn’t you want people’s efforts to be acknowledged? No one has ever won an award without the hard work of a lot of other people. When you win an award there’s many finger prints on the trophy.
I take great pride in the fact that CAAMP won the award for Conference of The Year at the Canadian Event Industry Awards. If you consider all the conferences that are held in Canada each year, the trophy is a significant accomplishment. Mortgage Forum 2011 was a huge success, and that was confirmed by the survey results and from the numerous comments I received from attendees. CAAMP took a gamble by changing up the conference, and the changes were well received. The affiliation with the Art of Sales ensured that the line-up of speakers surpassed all previous conferences. Tuesday turned into a full day of speaker sessions and it was impressive to see an audience of 2,220. I remember standing at the back of the hall during one of the speaker sessions and saying to myself, “damn, it actually worked”. When you make changes you never know how the changes will be received until you go live. There’s a big divide between concept and execution. The devil is in the detail, and the CAAMP staff didn’t miss a single detail. I’ve got proof of that…it’s a nice shiny trophy.
So how does CAAMP top last year’s conference at Mortgage Forum 2012 in Vancouver? It’s not going to be easy but they’re up for the challenge. They’ll do what they always do, and that means they’ll put on a hell of a show. CAAMP announced this week that Amanda Lang, CBC’s senior business correspondent, is returning as host of the Mortgage Forum 2012. That’s a fabulous start. What’s also returning is CAAMP Comedy Fest; we’re in the process right now of signing a contract with the headliner. I can’t say who it is yet but he’s gut busting funny. There’s a good chance that you’ve seen him on the TV talk-show circuit or one of his HBO comedy specials. Many of the speakers for the Tuesday’s portion of the conference have committed, and the theme for Tuesday is the Art of Marketing. CAAMP will announce the speaker line-up in short order. Trust me, you’ll be impressed.
It’s disclosure time. I’m the conference chair for Mortgage Forum 2012, and I have a vested interest in the success of this conference. Anytime you attach your name or reputation to something you want to make its successful. So I’ll use every tool at my disposal to ensure success, up to an including, bravado, hype, spin and hyperbole. Shooting from the lip is easier to do when you know there’s a group of highly killed individuals doing all the heavy lifting behind the scenes to ensure Mortgage Forum 2012 is the best conference we’ve ever had. Is that spin on my part? There’s an easy way to find out….see you at Mortgage Forum 2012 in Vancouver.
Until next time
Cheers
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