Toronto broker calls for volume-based pricing
A leading Toronto-based mortgage broker is calling for lenders to focus more on preferential pricing for top performers and other steps to safeguard the broker-lender relationship as the mortgage industry ramps up for what’s sure to be another eventful year.
James Harrison (pictured top) of Mortgages.ca told Canadian Mortgage Professional that less disparity between best rates and what brokers can offer clients would also boost ties between lenders and brokers.
“I’d like lenders to go back to volume-based pricing – so top brokers getting preferential pricing,” he said.
“I also think it’s important for lenders to protect the broker relationship via client reputational risks, especially as some banks provide aggressive pricing in branch.
That can be “unethical,” in some cases, he said, “and should be made more of a priority in 2026.”
Pricing models that disadvantage the broker, Harrison added, are among the red flags that might make brokers think twice about choosing a lender, along with long delays in approval and document review.
Broker-lender relationship remains a key one in 2026
The relationship between brokers and lenders, always important, has come into sharper focus in recent years with affordability struggles making mortgage qualification an even steeper hurdle for plenty of borrowers.
Purchase activity also dried up across many markets at the onset of interest rate hikes by the Bank of Canada in 2022, with much of the national housing scene still locked in a deep freeze.
Lenders sometimes offer brokers better pricing based on their volume produced in an effort to secure top originators’ business.
But brokers have also reported fierce competition from banks for mortgage renewal, with banks often offering customers rates to secure their business that brokers simply can’t match.
Harrison, who was named among CMP’s Top 75 mortgage brokers in Canada in 2025, said last year didn’t see a huge expansion of the number of lenders he called upon, with one company securing more of his business than any other.
“2025 was roughly the same [as previous years],” he said, “with Scotiabank the clear winner on all fronts – plus some new lenders to the broker channel and B lenders with new offers and products.”
Among the keys to a positive broker-lender relationship: having a responsive representative at the lender who can communicate clearly and regularly with brokers, Harrison said.
But unsurprisingly, he said underwriter speed remains the most-valued asset for many brokers, as well as minimal document conditions.
How brokers viewed their lender partners in 2025
CMP’s latest Brokers on Lenders report, released last year, underscored plenty of Harrison’s points – and also highlighted the main areas brokers believe lenders are succeeding and falling short.
That report saw brokers rate lenders’ performance across a number of key areas and revealed the most important considerations for brokers in their choice of lender.
Among the biggest areas of improvement in brokers’ eyes since 2023 have been lenders’ IT and technology offerings, which saw a 10% jump in satisfaction levels between then and 2025.
BDM support has also posted a significant improvement, with broker satisfaction increasing by 7% in that area, while brokers are also happier with lenders’ product ranges, overall service levels, and credit policy than they were in 2023.
Underwriter support and commission structure improved marginally over the last two years, brokers said – but perhaps inevitably, broker satisfaction with the interest rates offered by lenders dipped by 4.6%, likely more a product of a higher-rate environment than policies disadvantaging brokers.
As for the areas where brokers said they most wanted to see lenders improve? More competitive pricing and tighter rate parity with branches were high on that list – along with better access to BDMs and underwriters, faster approvals and document reviews, and more underwriting flexibility and product training.
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