CMBA-BC ELECTS FIRST-EVER ALL-WOMAN EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Growing CMBA-BC’s membership and improving communication with members are priorities

BY CHRIS FREIMOND

"The times are changing” is Deb White’s simple yet meaningful characterization of the unprecedented election of an all-woman four-member executive committee to help guide the day-to-day operations of the Canadian Mortgage Brokers Association of British Columbia (CMBA-BC) for the next two years.

It's the first all-woman executive committee in the Association’s 31-year history, and White is only the fourth woman to ever be elected to lead the board.

White, a mortgage broker with White House Dominion Lending Centres in Vernon, B.C., is joined by vice-president Marci Deane, a broker with Mortgage Architects in North Vancouver; secretary Jane Wakelyn with Dominion Lending Centres in Prince George; and treasurer Caroline Roach, a broker with Fitzwilliam Mortgage Corp. in Nanaimo on Vancouver Island.

White has previously served as treasurer on the executive board and Deane as secretary.

The Association’s 11-member board of directors, currently comprising six men and five women, is elected by CMBA-BC members. The full board then elects the four-person executive committee.

White says it is significant in an industry dominated by men – only 34 per cent of CMBA-BC’s 1,230 members are women – that an all-woman executive committee was elected for the first time.

“It shows that times are changing, women are making headway, we are making our voices heard,” she says.

White notes that while the executive committee does not make final decisions without consulting the full board of directors, it is in effect the ‘voice’ of the board, and the board expects the executive committee to represent it appropriately.

For White and her executive committee colleagues, that means setting an agenda that meets the needs of members.

“Our priority will be on growing the Association’s membership and improving communication with members,” she says. “We are going through very challenging times, and we need to listen to brokers, hear what they are saying and respond in the right way. That’s my focus going forward.”

Top of the list is education, says White, who believes many brokers finish their licensing course and then face the challenge of how to actually do business.

“How do I get a deal? What do I do with that deal, and how do I present it to my lender? How do I find out who the lenders are? These are the type of questions we are getting, and I think it’s up to the Association to help educate the brokers and teach them the skills of the trade,” she adds. “I want to amp that up, and so does the board.”

White says brokers across Canada are currently facing a great deal of uncertainty.

“We don't know what's happening with interest rates, we don't know if the market's going to crash, we don't know if we're going to go forward, or if we're going to go down,” she says. “And of course, each market is different. I live in a very small community and right now we are booming, whereas other communities have fallen flat. So it's very hard to focus on everything, and that's why I say there’s uncertainty.”

To some degree, the uncertainty is fuelled by the rapid rise in real estate prices.

“If anyone had said we would see an increase of around 49 per cent from 2020 to 2021, we would have laughed, but now that’s become our norm,” says White. “So if it slows

down next year, we are all going to be saying ‘my goodness, what’s happening?’ We need to prepare ourselves for that.”

White says the new executive committee can help address the uncertainty by bringing a province-wide perspective to the challenges facing the Association’s members.

“Each one of us is from a different region – the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island, Northern B.C. and the Interior – and that diversity will give us a broader provincial voice and help ensure we have even more information to guide brokers and assist them to meet their challenges,” she says.

The executive committee will also be reaching out to new brokers coming into the industry to make sure they are aware of what the Association has to offer.

“I think some of the newer brokers know about CMBA-BC, but they don’t know much about the board of directors and what we do. I’m hoping to get our more seasoned brokers involved in getting that message out,” says White.

Part of that initiative will be more education and information seminars for brokers and public service announcements to enhance public perception of the industry.

Initially, the board will be the proactive party in the outreach to brokers, but White’s goal is to make brokers sufficiently aware of what’s on offer that they initiate contact with the board.

While there are several factors impacting the real estate market over which brokers have little or no control – such as possible changes to the government’s stress test, the prime rate and new regulations affecting the industry – they can and must play a role in advising their clients and being a sounding board, says White.

“That’s why we, as an Association, need to focus on broker education to make sure that brokers are knowledgeable on each and every subject and aspect of their business, because their clients are relying on them for that information,” she says.

White says the Association has done great work in recent years to improve public perception of brokers and positioning them as the go-to source for the widest range of mortgage options.

“We need to keep that up and make sure consumers know we're here for them,” she adds.

Newly elected vice-president Marci Deane says she is thrilled to be on the executive committee and to be able to give back to her colleagues in the industry.

“Mentorship and education have had an immense impact on my success, and I’m committed to focusing on this aspect of the Association,” she says.

Secretary Jane Wakelyn says her election will allow her and the other executive board members to pursue new goals and initiate change on behalf of members.

The new treasurer, Caroline Roach, says she is also looking forward to giving back to the industry that has served her so well.

“Brokering not only allowed me to help people achieve their homeownership dreams but also provided me with the flexibility to balance motherhood while building my career,” she adds.

All four members of the executive committee are veteran mortgage brokers who are embracing this unique challenge with a forward vision focused on supporting the Association’s efforts to drive positive change.

They are also all recognized by the industry and within their local B.C. communities for continually giving back to help make a difference where they work and live.