Broker Accreditation – An Important Feature of Commercial Lending

A key feature of Angas Prime’s ability to deliver reliable investor returns is its relationship with business introducers. This must provide incentive to the broker but permit quality control to be managed by Angas Prime.

There is formal broker accreditation. To become accredited, the broker must agree to comply with the operational requirements of Angas Prime as set out in a Broker Accreditation Agreement. This makes it explicit that the broker is the agent of the borrower and has no authority to act as agent of Angas Prime.

The broker has no power to enter into any loan contract on behalf of Angas Prime. The broker cannot approve an application for loan finance, nor make any other commitment on behalf of Angas Prime, nor make a promise to a prospective borrower that Angas Prime will make a loan, nor represent that the broker is an agent acting on behalf of Angas Prime. If an application for first mortgage loan finance is approved, Angas Prime will prepare all relevant loan and security documentation. This will be at the borrower’s cost.

The broker must obtain the written consent of the borrower to the payment of any commission or brokerage fees by Angas Prime. In addition, the broker has a responsibility to disclose to the borrower all details about the receipt of any commission or brokerage fees from Angas Prime. In relation to an Angas Prime loan transaction, the broker will not accept any monies from a borrower except in accordance with Angas’s operational requirements. Where a transaction is settled as a direct result of an application for finance submitted by the broker, Angas Prime will promptly pay the broker the agreed fee.

The broker agrees to be responsible for employing and training all staff necessary to submit applications for finance to Angas Prime in an honest and efficient manner. The broker must make available for inspection by Angas Prime on reasonable notice all records and files in relation to any Angas Prime transaction. A broker must not use the Angas Prime name or logo without Angas Prime’s consent. Each accredited broker must maintain professional indemnity insurance to provide cover against claims up to $2,000,000.

A broker may receive confidential information relating to Angas Prime. Each broker must agree to keep any such confidential information confidential and only use the confidential information for the purposes of lending transactions involving Angas Prime and comply with all requirements of Angas Prime in relation to the protection of the confidential information.

Each broker must warrant to Angas Prime that it will at all times comply with the licensing, conduct and other obligations imposed by law, that it will operate its business honestly efficiently and fairly and will not submit an application for finance to Angas Prime which the Broker knows to be false or misleading. The broker must also agree to ensure as best it can that all documents and information submitted to Angas Prime are accurate and reliable and will notify Angas Prime of any known default by a borrower in complying with the terms of a loan provided by Angas Prime and will comply with the reasonable directions of Angas Prime in relation to any such default.

A broker may be appointed by Angas Prime as its limited agent for the purpose of carrying out Angas Prime’s customer identification procedures under the law. In doing so, the broker will use its best endeavours to properly identify each prospective borrower and comply with Angas Prime’s procedures. Angas Prime may nevertheless interview a broker’s client or require the provision of additional identification information or other information pertaining to a loan application at any time for any reason. Each of these requirements identifies important stages in loan selection and approval in respect of those transactions referred by a finance broker.

There are other sources of loan referrals to Angas Prime such as from lawyers and accountants which put their clients in touch with Angas Prime. These borrowers become direct clients of Angas Prime and multiple successive transactions can often eventuate over many years. Brokers and borrowers prefer the certainty and specialist capacity of Angas Prime to deal with their needs for financing commercial property transactions.