Giving Back to Make a Difference

GIVING BACK TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Mortgage industry veteran Geoff Parkin believes thateducation and mentorship will help brokers elevate the profession

BY LISA GORDON

After 25 years in the financial services industry, Geoff Parkin knows one thing for sure: education and mentorship are the keys to elevating the mortgage broker profession in British Columbia and across the country.

Parkin began his career as a Chartered Professional Accountant and Financial Analyst with Pacific Coast Savings Credit Union and Coast Capital Savings Credit Union. Formerly of Victoria, the 52-yearold now lives in White Rock with his wife (he has two daughters who are currently in university). A self-professed finance geek, Parkin has been the CEO of Select Mortgage for 17 years, where he and about 60 brokers provide services for Greater Vancouver and Vancouver Island.

What’s different about Select Mortgage? Parkin said that unlike many mortgage companies, Select Mortgage is not owned by a large financial institution. This allows the company to retain its detailed client focus, while at the same time generating enough volume to negotiate low mortgage rates.

Client service is extremely important to Parkin, who said he enjoys “helping clients along through what is potentially one of the biggest financial transactions in their lives.”

Aside from his CEO role, Parkin is the current president of the Mortgage Brokers Institute of British Columbia (MBIBC). Thatorganization provides professional education to mortgage brokers so they can meet mandatory re-licensing requirements prescribed by the B.C. Financial Services Authority.

“Every two years our brokers have to be re-licensed,” he explained. “As part of that re-licensing, they have to take a number of courses and the institute provides that course content so they can do their re-licensing program.”

Parkin got involved with MBIBC because he wants to see increased educational opportunities for mortgage brokers.

“I think a lot of that is making sure, as an industry, that we don’t see mortgages as transactional interactions, but really see it as financial advice,” he told Canadian Mortgage Broker. “(A broker’s) interactions with clients should give them material or other consideration that is beyond the actual mortgage transaction, including some aspects of the financial planning that goes along with mortgages.”

He added: “Brokers should provide information on the strategic use of debt, debt for investing, use of debt in retirement, basic tax knowledge around real estate, and even knowledge in areas such as wills, estates and life insurance considerations. Brokers may not provide full advice on each of these areas, but they should make it part of the conversation with clients.”

Aside from promoting formal industry education, Parkin enjoys working with new and inexperienced mortgage brokers. “I enjoy coaching and mentoring brokers as they’re coming into the industry, helping them get set up and be effective and successful in their careers.”

One lesson he’s learned after his considerable mortgage industry experience is the value of a knowledgeable mortgage broker – particularly since many homebuyers find the process difficult to understand.

“Getting advice from a mortgage broker is essential,” said Parkin. “There are many products available to a client, all with their own unique pros and cons. There is tremendous value to the advice provided by brokers, which can be underestimated by borrowers.”

That’s where his interest in mentoring and volunteering comes into play.

“I think it’s important for everyone in our industry to give back a little bit of their time to improve and develop the industry,” he said.

Parkin himself is no stranger to giving back. He volunteered as president of the Mortgage Brokers Association of British Columbia 11 years ago, and has been serving on the finance committee for the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation for the past 16 years.

“I got involved with the hospital because my youngest daughter has been a regular patient there, having five heart surgeries in her lifetime,” he said.

So, what does Parkin do in his limited amount of spare time?

“My favourite thing to do is travel, so that’s been a bit hard the past couple of years. I have a bit of catching up to do,” he said. “I run with my dog, enjoy hiking and ride my motorcycle, because it’s my mid-life crisis. It’s not a Harley – that’s what everyone asks me – (but) accountants and Harleys just don’t go together.”

His favourite ride is from Vancouver through Washington State to Mount Baker, where “there are lots of twisty roads and it runs through farmland, through foothills, and up to the mountains.”