Lost and Found: Scotiabank Finds its Way Back to the Mortgage Broker Market

As mortgage brokers are painfully aware, the channel's former undisputed #1 lender—Scotiabank—pulled way back from the space last year.

Despite mortgages being an anchor product for the bank, it said it needed to reassess its entire approach to real estate secured lending in order to manage its balance sheet.

This week, the nation's third-largest bank finally made its triumphant return—chopping broker rates and putting it back in contention with archrival TD.

The move was met with fanfare on industry forums like I Love Mortgage Brokering and Twitter. A surprising number of brokers appeared willing to forgive and forget months of horrible rates, suggesting Scotia will likely go from MIA to MVP.

But the cost of its absence was nonetheless steep.