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FROM THE LENDER’S PERSPECTIVE Working for some of the country’s biggest banks and lenders, Elaine Taylor, VP of sales at MCAP, has seen the mortgage industry evolve – and she has some ideas about how that evolution will continue
ELAINE TAYLOR took a somewhat unconventional path to the mortgage industry. After spending 25 years working in corporate relocation, she decided it was time for a change – but she wanted to stay in a real estate-related field, and she figured that mortgages would be a logical next step in her career progression. “A very close friend of mine was in the mortgage business in a senior role at CIBC Home Loans Canada,” Taylor explains. “I had primarily been in corporate relocation and then commission financing. I decided to use the skills I had gained over the years to go into mortgages, and I joined HLC/CIBC as an area sales leader. My role was to recruit, train and manage a team. In 2007, it was expanded to include launching CIBC mobile mortgage specialists into the GTA.” After leaving her mark on the big bank, Taylor joined MCAP in 2007, taking on the role of sales leader for eastern Canada. “From there, I decided in 2010 to move into head office and became director of communications until 2012,” she says. “I then moved into a strategic role to become senior director of strategic partnerships – I was responsible for key relationships with brokers,
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franchise and head offices, and also for setting the sales strategy.”
Winds of change Two years ago, Taylor was promoted to VP of sales at MCAP, a position that’s afforded
change. We need to be aware of things that will influence change – things like the economy, not just at a local or national level, but globally. “Influences are more direct,” she continues. “We’re seeing much more external influence than ever before. The biggest challenges, I
“I don’t know that it’s about winning market share from the banks; I think it’s more about how we can ensure that our channel has a value proposition that entices or is relevant enough for customers to use us” her a front-row seat to the ongoing evolution of the mortgage industry. And while no one can predict exactly how the industry will change in the coming years, Taylor says there are things brokers and lenders can do to be more prepared for whatever is ahead. “How will [the industry] change? That’s the million-dollar question,” she says. “I think it’s important we watch the drivers of that
think, will be adapting to the forces at play, not only within the industry, but in business and the economy as a whole.” To that end, Taylor points to technology as one important area that brokers should keep an eye on. “It’s moving at such a quick pace,” she says. “Less than two years ago, we didn’t even know the term Fintech. It’s now part of our
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6/10/2016 8:09:36 AM