B.C. mortgage broker admits violation of securities law, pays regulator $30K

A sign at the B.C. Securities Commission office in downtown Vancouver is seen on Dec. 28, 2024. (CTV News)

A mortgage broker who violated B.C. securities law, seemingly unintentionally, has paid $30,000 to a provincial regulator.

Alan James Fetterly, a registered sub-mortgage broker, reached a settlement with the B.C. Securities Commission last week, and the document was published online Tuesday.

The settlement addresses Fetterly’s conduct in brokering three “syndicated mortgages” between 2018 and 2024.

A syndicated mortgage, according to the BCSC, is one in which two or more people participate as lenders, whether directly or indirectly.

By brokering these mortgages, Fetterly triggered a requirement to register under B.C.’s Securities Act, but he did not do so.

The three syndicated mortgages raised a total of roughly $2.15 million and resulted in $49,799.46 in commissions for Fetterly, according to the settlement agreement.

“By brokering the syndications, Fetterly engaged in the business of trading in securities without being registered and without an exemption,” the document reads.

The settlement notes that Fetterly has no history of violating securities regulations and that there was no evidence of Fetterly’s actions causing direct harm to any investors.

The mortgage broker’s co-operation with the regulator was considered a “mitigating factor” in the case, according to the document.

“Fetterly was forthcoming in his responses to investigators, admitted to wrongdoing and made the admissions set out in this agreement at an early stage of the investigation, prior to the issuance of an investigation order in this matter, which has resulted in time and cost savings,” the settlement reads.

It also notes that Fetterly had received legal advice before brokering the syndicated mortgages, and that this advice had “failed to identify” that doing so would trigger securities laws.

To resolve his misconduct, Fetterly agreed to pay the BCSC $30,000, which he has since done, according to the regulator.