January 21, 2013

ING DIRECT’s Broker Business Announcement

From RateHub.ca

In an email sent to Canadian mortgage brokers and agents, ING DIRECT Canada announced today what some in the mortgage broker industry may have already seen coming: the financial institution will be transitioning all of its broker business to Scotiabank.

“We have completed a thorough evaluation of our mortgage business and have come to the decision that ING DIRECT will concentrate its origination efforts on its DIRECT channel and transition its broker business to Scotiabank,” explained Kim Luxton, National Director of Broker Sales for ING DIRECT.

The decision is a result of Scotiabank’s acquisition of ING DIRECT Canada in August 2012. At the time, ING had $40 billion of high quality assets, including more than $29 billion of residential mortgages. And while ING will continue to offer mortgage products under its own brand, the institution will no longer be partnering with brokerages that wish to source their rates. 

But what does that mean for homeowners who are currently looking to buy or refinance? For anyone working with a mortgage broker who sources rates from ING DIRECT, you need to be aware of a couple things. 

First, ING will continue to accept new mortgage and HELOC applications up to 8:00pm EST on February 16, 2013. However, ING is no longer accepting new rate holds or pre-approvals – this is effective immediately. If you have an existing 30-day rate hold certificate, it is valid until its expiry date. And existing pre-approvals must turn into completed transactions within the remaining guarantee period.

For the brokers themselves, questions and answers will be worked out with their dedicated Regional Sales Managers. Although only announced today, predictions of Scotiabank taking over ING’s broker channel have circulated for months. In Q3 2012, Scotiabank had 23.6% of the broker lender market share, while ING had only 4.6%. Because of this, ING is confident the procedures to get broker partnerships and product offerings in place will be successful.

“Scotiabank is Canada’s largest broker lender doing business across Canada, offering their broker partners a comprehensive suite of competitively priced mortgage products.” Luxton added, “We are confident that Scotiabank has the capacity to meet your needs and your clients’ needs, providing you with the level of service you have become accustomed to with ING DIRECT.”

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RateHub.ca is an independent, impartial website that compares mortgage rates. RateHub also focuses on delivering clear, easy-to-understand mortgage education and robust mortgage calculators.