It was bound to happen. A major bank saying that they want to control a mortgage process that has churned up significant issues in the US.

BMO has decided to put more of a shift on bank-originated lending, rather than the mortgage broker channel. This is tough since "In theory, everyone wins with a mortgage broker: The customer receives a better deal, the bank a new customer and the broker a handsome fee."

Their rationale? "Heavy reliance on brokers exposed the U.S. financial system to risk. Bankers have a responsibility to know their customers. They also have a duty to borrowers as well as shareholders and depositors, whose money they should lend only when they are confident it will be repaid, an important check and balance in the financial system that mortgage brokers are not obliged to fulfill."

Maybe this works, maybe it doesn't - time will tell.