Mortgage and Finance Association gets tough on qualifications



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The Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) has ejected 1,500 brokers from its member base after they failed to meet basic qualification requirements.
In 2007, the industry body’s board decided that all new member applicants must have a Certificate IV in Financial Services (Finance and Mortgage Broking) qualification (or equivalent) as a prerequisite to MFAA membership, while existing members were given until July 1 this year to meet the condition.
Chief executive Phil Naylor said the board wanted to ensure its members held the “basic foundational qualification for mortgage and finance broking”.
“This enables the MFAA to raise the level of professionalism among its membership again by introducing a minimum diploma qualification in the next few years,” Naylor said.
The members who did not successfully satisfy the requirements were given “several reminders” before their memberships were cancelled.
Naylor said the MFAA will reinstate memberships where the required qualification is met within the next three months.
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