The consolidation wave continues in Canada's mortgage broker industry.

Mortgage Centre Canada (MCC), a subsidiary of mortgage juggernaut DLC Group (DLCG), just snapped up Real Mortgage Associates (RMA) and Broker One. DLCG sealed the deal last week, CEO Gary Mauris told MLN.

A few weeks ago, when MLN broke the news that James Laird was stepping down as co-CEO of Ratehub, we knew this was the end of an era. But we didn't know why.

So, MLN got the 'why' from the man himself, along with essential intel for our tech-forward mortgage readers.

If your world orbits online mortgage strategy, bookmark this interview.

As any mortgage pro can attest, income on tax documents doesn't always reflect a borrower's true financial capacity. For entrepreneurs, write-offs, erratic cash flows, and lack of declared income can make traditional income docs as useful as a helicopter ejector seat.

That's why many alternative lenders swap NOAs and T1s for bank statements when vetting income. Such programs have been getting more challenging, however.

Take six-month bank statement programs, for example, which is where lenders annualize income based on a half year of cash flow—as evidenced by the borrower's bank statements. These flexible programs have been a dying breed at institutional lenders. But First National has brought the program back to life, at least for a while.

Its Excalibur alternative lending channel has a zesty new 6-month bank statement promo called "BFS6." We snagged time with EVP Scott McKenzie to dive into its significance.

So far, June is shaking up the rate market like a snow globe, and there may be more to come.

Canadian yields have collapsed 50+ bps in two weeks as markets figure out that inflation may not be as clingy as they thought. A move this seismic reflects a major rethink in market psychology.

For "Canada's Challenger Bank," insured single-family mortgage lending was apparently too much of a challenge.

Equitable Bank is following in competitor Home Trust's footsteps by tossing in the towel on insured mortgage originations through brokers.
​​

The government just unfurled guidelines for its newest mortgage policy brainchild, 30-year insured amortizations. These extended repayment periods are earmarked for first-time purchasers of newly-built residences and kick off this August.

Here's what mortgage pros need to know:

Toronto-based mortgage broker 8Twelve Mortgage Corporation has just scored a lucrative long-term revenue-sharing pact with NerdWallet (Nasdaq: NRDS).

San Francisco-based NerdWallet is a global financial information juggernaut. In Canada, it competes against Ratehub, Wowa, and countless others to deliver rate comparisons and advice to mortgage consumers. Its global revenue last year reached almost $600 million USD.

Since touching down in Canada in 2021, NerdWallet has been climbing Google’s mortgage search ranks faster than a squirrel climbs a tree. And that's just the beginning, the company promises.

To unpack this strategic alliance, MLN talked with 8Twelve CEO and Co-Founder Gary Fooks, who dished out several business plan nuggets.

When the public thinks about where to get a mortgage, MCAN doesn’t pop up on most radars. However, for status brokers in the know, MCAN is sometimes invaluable for ultra-rate-sensitive insured clients. It also fills some quirky non-prime niches.

And then there's its stock. Investors know MCAN Financial for its irresistible dividend (almost 10%), payout track record and 12.39% ten-year compound annual growth rate. MCAN is also Canada's largest Mortgage Investment Corporation ("MIC") and the only federally regulated MIC.

MCAN Home, the company's residential lending arm, squeezed out $940 million in originations last year. That's small fries in the grand scheme of things. Yet, given its 10% annual growth ambition, the company seems poised to climb the lender rankings.

MLN recently grabbed a moment with MCAN Financial CEO Don Coulter and COO Avish Buck. We asked a bunch of questions we thought brokers and investors might want to know (including about that fat dividend.)

In the video chat below, the two unpack:

• How falling rates juice up mortgage demand
• OSFI's new LTI limits
• Sustainability of MCAN's low-rate model
• How MCAN's direct-to-consumer deposit model is faring
• Don Coulter's thoughts on going direct-to-consumer with mortgages
• MCAN mortgage niches
• Securing uninsured prime funding
• Why MCAN's dividend yield is stuck in the juicy 9% to 10% range.

Catch the full interview here...