However, the organisation is promising the fees will include formal training sessions, 10 hours of which each year will become mandatory for each broker from July 1, answering the question many had been asking as to how much value the NZMBA was contributing to their businesses.
The NZMBA has cut the fees by $100 to $795 and members can also chose to pay monthly via direct debit, says chairman Darren Pratley. "Times are tough, we appreciate that."
Mortgage brokers will have to pay for formal training one way or another and "if they're looking to do it privately, the cost will be very expensive," Pratley says. "We want to provide members with real value. We can't do it any cheaper than we are if you want to get that level of value."
Another reason the organisation can't reduce fees further is because of the support it is extending to its about 54 members in earthquake hit Christchurch, he says.
Membership for those brokers will be free this year. "It's important that those NZMBA members are supported and represented at this time." For example, the NZMBA is lobbying the government to extend the period in which Christchurch advisers have to comply with the new regulatory requirements, he says.
The NZMBA is also setting up a hardship fund for Christchurch members and has earmarked "an amount of money" for this although he doesn't want to say how much. It will also talk to lenders about what they can do to support affected brokers.
Some, such as Mortgage Link chief executive Rod Templeton, had been calling for annual fees to be cut to as low as $250.
"It is clear most of the current Mortgage Link members are struggling to see value in the current subscription level," Templeton said in an email to Pratley.
"It's damn concerning to hear from some of our long-standing and well-regarded members of the NZMBA that they will not be renewing their membership."
Mortgage Link and other groups, including Mortgage People and Allied Kiwi, still require their brokers to belong to an industry association but allow them to chose between NZMBA and other organisations such as the Professional Advisers Association.
Pratley says membership has already fallen from about 1,000 to 600, largely as a result of people leaving the industry through the recession.
