Murray Snedden named to FSRA Technical Advisory Committee

MarshallZehr’s Murray Snedden, Chief Financial Officer and Principal Broker, has agreed to participate in the Mortgage Brokering Technical Advisory Committee, bringing his experience and expertise in construction and development lending to the table. Members of the committee were selected “based on their professional experience in mortgage brokering, mortgage investment and real estate financing” as well as “their knowledge of relevant issues and senior level experience”, as stated by FSRA.

The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) has established the Mortgage Brokering Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) with the primary goal of shaping and enhancing FSRA’s policy and supervisory approaches in the mortgage brokerage space. These efforts will help to support consumer protection, help to increase the efficiency of regulatory enforcement, and promote the innovation.

There are multiple and diverse stakeholders who participate in the mortgage brokering space in Ontario, representing a number of different business types and service niches. Of all of these disciplines, construction and development lending is unique – both in terms of how this market operates and how regulatory measures can keep stakeholders safe. Regulations need to be well-crafted as it applies to construction and development lending to help reduce risk without unduly increasing the burden on market participants.

This is especially important when you consider the role of construction and development within the larger mortgage brokering space: while the volume of construction and development mortgages made up only 2% of secondary mortgage classifications between 2016 and 2018, the value of these mortgages represented nearly 17% of these mortgages by value (2018 Mortgage Brokerages and Administrators Annual Information Return).

According to Murray, his objective in participating is in the FSRA TAC to bring his experience, knowledge and reasonable approach to help shape the future regulations impacting the industry. “I am pleased to be selected to the committee and have the opportunity to help represent mortgage brokerages and administrators, and specifically those supporting the construction and development space – and our ability to provide critical financing to help create housing supply”, stated Snedden.

We’re excited to see the impact Murray will make on the committee and the direction of regulation as it evolves over time.