Article updated March 29th at 12 noon eastern time.
The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario has put out a news release stating that “Loans Canada are not licensed to conduct mortgage business in Ontario.”
The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario updated this statement as of March 16th, 2021 and said the following;
“Please be advised that Loans Canada has now removed all requests for information that would indicate mortgage solicitation.”
On Loans Canada’s website, which was founded in 2012 by President Scott Satov it says he “had spent two years trying to build an online mortgage brokerage to make it easier for Canadians to find financing for their homes online. However, a couple of years into the project the President says it “become clear to him that there was a large number of Canadians searching for loans online who had nowhere to turn for financial help.”
He said at the time there was no visibility on the options available to many Canadians with credit issues and most of these consumers were relying too heavily on payday loans – only to get stuck in a cycle of debt they couldn’t get out of.
Don’t obtain mortgage home loan through Loans Canada says FSRA
The news release provided by The FSRA states that the ” FSRA encourages consumers to exercise caution if they are contacted by anyone claiming to represent Scott Satov and/or Loans Canada. Consumers are also advised not to obtain a mortgage arranged through Scott Satov and/or Loans Canada.”
The release continues;
“FSRA licenses mortgage brokerages, brokers and agents to safeguard public confidence and trust in Ontario’s financial services. If consumers obtain a mortgage through individuals or companies not licensed by FSRA, they are not protected under the Mortgage Brokerages, Lenders and Administrators Act, 2006 and its regulations that govern Ontario’s licensed mortgage brokerages, brokers and agents.”
Check the Public registry
The FSRA encourages consumers to check the public registry to ensure that they’re working with a licensed mortgage broker, agent, brokerage, or administrator.
Loans Canada has served over a million – how many mortgages?
Loans Canada provides a wide swath of loan services, here are some listed on their website;
- Unsecured Personal Loan
- Debt Consolidation Loan
- Car repair loan
- Consumer Proposal Payoff Loan
- Guarantor (Cosignor) Loan
- Credit Rehab Savings Loan
- Small Business Loan
- Car Loan
Under the mortgage page of Loans Canada
On the Loans Canada website there is subheader titled mortgages that has the following listed under it;
- Home equity loans
- Second mortgages
- mortgage refinancing
- New mortgage loans
New mortgage loans page
When I clicked the “new mortgage” portion under the mortgage sub headers on the website – I noticed that it was not only information they were providing. They do indeed appear to be offering mortgage loans through their website on Loans Canada.
When we went to the new mortgage page and clicked get started, our webpage was re-routed and this prompt popped up;
The words “speak with a mortgage specialist today” proceed to pop up in a small white box asking you for your postal code. This is odd considering the regulatory authority for Ontario (FSRA) has stated that you don’t possess a license to “conduct mortgage business” in Ontario. How can you be a specialist without a license?
We have reached out to the FSRA for clarification on their release and to Loans Canada for clarification on their statement to the FSRA news release – we will update this article as new information is provided.
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