Real Estate Fraud

Last modified: 08 March 2012




How big a problem is mortgage fraud in Canada?

Mortgage fraud is a crime that the banking industry, police, governments and other organizations involved in real estate transactions take very seriously. There is no central organization that collects statistics nationally, so the scope of real estate fraud in Canada is difficult to measure.

While even a single incident is one too many, it is important to put the issue into perspective. There are hundreds of billions of dollars in mortgages held by millions of Canadian homeowners and in the vast majority of cases these mortgages are perfectly normal.





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When the banks become victims of mortgage fraud, where do they turn to recover the funds?

In the event of a mortgage default, the property pledged as security would be sold by the lender, and this alone can sometimes cover any money lost through mortgage fraud.

If there is a shortfall after the property is sold, then a lender may turn to mortgage or title insurers to recoup losses. There are also a variety of professional errors and omissions funds set up by groups such as law societies and real estate associations to reimburse victims for losses if their members are involved in the crime. The bank may also sue the criminals themselves to recoup some or all of the losses.

Again, keep in mind that, in most cases, there is still a property that can be sold, so the banks may only turn to insurance or funds to cover the difference between the amount of the mortgage and the amount they received for the sale of the property, not the entire amount of the mortgage.

If banks are recouping their mortgage fraud losses from mortgage insurance provided by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), a crown corporation, then do taxpayers pay for the losses?

The CMHC insurance program is completely self-funded and CMHC competes with other insurers for mortgage insurance business. The Canadian treasury and Canadian taxpayers do not suffer any losses as a result of mortgage fraud or any other mortgage defaults. In fact, in 2003, CMHC announced a 15 per cent reduction in premiums for mortgage loan insurance.

How do the banks assist the police when it comes to investigating cases of mortgage fraud?

It is in all of our best interests to combat mortgage fraud. The banks co-operate fully with police to ensure that homeowners are protected, criminals are brought to justice and that effective measures are put in place to fight and reduce mortgage fraud in Canada.

The banks conduct their own internal investigations and will provide their findings to police. They will also help in any way that they can, within the law, with police investigations into mortgage fraud. This could include providing documents and other information that they have obtained or testifying in court.

The banks and the CBA also sit on task forces and working groups with police, governments, real estate groups, the legal profession, other financial institutions and other stakeholders that look at mortgage fraud and related issues. To commit mortgage fraud, a number of parties need to be working together and they vary the methods used to commit this crime. By sharing information, we can all constantly be taking steps to change practices and close any gaps that may exist in the system.

Do bank customers ultimately pay for mortgage fraud losses through higher service fees?

No. There is no direct correlation between fraud losses and service fees — that’s not how banks operate. There are, of course, many costs of doing business for a bank, including losses associated with fraud. Others would be such things as credit loan losses, operating expenses, wages, technology and rent. In the end, if these costs of doing business go up, then revenues and earnings go down. Mortgage fraud losses are an unfortunate cost of doing business and banks are working aggressively to decrease those losses.

It is also important to note that, in general, monthly service fees have remained relatively stable over the past few years.


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