MLN NewsStream

The marketing prowess of Canadian banks is legendary, akin in many ways to the dominance of Amazon in online shopping. And nowhere is that more evident than on Google.

Consider the search volume of Canada's biggest bank by assets, RBC. When you compare it to America's largest bank, JP Morgan Chase (JPMC), for example, you see something unintuitive.

At last, the fog has lifted. We now know our bank regulator's stance regarding whether federally regulated mortgage investors, also known as bank dealers or "aggregators," can purchase non-stress-tested uninsured switches from non-federally regulated lenders.

This revelation is significant given its implications for spicing up competition in this small segment of the mortgage market.

As we approach the biggest mortgage renewal cycle ever, brokers are starting to question OSFI's recent stress test exemption on uninsured switches. It's looking suspiciously like a gift-wrapped competitive advantage for banks, some believe.

Thousands of long-time mortgage brokers and unwitting customers have experienced Scotiabank's frustrating mortgage renewal policy.

If you don't renew or pay out the mortgage by the deadline, the bank shackles you to a new closed term. Borrowers must then often pay hefty penalties to get out of the mortgage.

Scotiabank's renewal policy is like a surprise party—without the party. And at least one customer has had enough. Lawyers representing this borrower initiated a proposed class action lawsuit earlier this year. MLN spoke with one of the lawyers on the case, and here's how things might shake out.