THE WA branch of the Mortgage Industry Association of Australia last week welcomed Anne-Marie Syme as its new State president.
As the first female president in what is still a male-dominated industry, Ms Syme said her appointment had been “tainted with curiosity” but said she was excited about her new role.
Ms Syme said as president she would continue the recent push by the mortgage origination industry to have all mortgage lenders agree to only deal with MIAA accredited mortgage consultants.
“About 65 per cent of lenders, including the major banks, have signed an agreement signalling this is the way they want to go,” Ms Syme said.
“I believe this is a good thing as it gets the riff-raff out of our industry.”
Next year, Ms Syme is also planning to introduce a new award program for women in the mort-gage industry, modelled on the Telstra Business Woman of the Year Awards.
Ms Syme was elected unanimously by industry members in a postal ballot and her appointment was announced at the MIAA’s Annual General Meeting on October 26.
She has run her mortgage origination business, The Loans Café, for three years, previously working as 2IC at the WA branch of Aussie Home Loans.
