The bank pays you every two weeks whether the file funds or not. A brokerage pays you when it funds, and pays you for the renewal too. Here is what that trade actually looks like.
Written by A.I.M.I. Collective Mortgage Group, Brokerage editorial team
Published September 2026 · Last reviewed 11 September 2026
A banker deciding whether to leave is doing one comparison in their head: what I have now against what I might have. Most recruiting copy answers only the second half. This guide does both halves, without an A.I.M.I. figure attached, because the honest answer depends on your book and we walk through that on the call.
Salary plus bonus arrives on schedule. Commission arrives 30 to 90 days after the work, and the first pay cheque as a broker commonly lands two to four months after the licence. Plan the gap before you resign, not after.
Health and dental, group life, a pension or matched RRSP, paid vacation. As a broker you buy or fund all of these yourself. Price them honestly: for many bankers they are worth 15 to 25 percent on top of salary.
Branch traffic, the bank's advertising, internal referrals. On day one as a broker the phone rings because of you, not the sign. That is the whole reason to go, and the whole risk.
Credit, underwriting, compliance, marketing and technology teams. A brokerage either carries these at head office or leaves them with you. Ask which before you sign anywhere.
The client who did not fit the bank's box goes to a B lender, a credit union, a private lender or a commercial lender instead of to a competitor. Stop asking whether the bank will approve it and start asking who will.
Clients you originate as a broker are yours: their renewal in five years, their refinance, their referral, their next purchase. At the bank those belonged to the bank. Read the renewal and referral engine.
A funded file pays a finder's fee, commonly 0.5 to 1.2 percent of the mortgage at A lenders, split with the brokerage. A broker at $20 million a year is earning what a branch manager earns; at $50 million, considerably more. Read how the income works.
No quarterly quota set by someone else, no product push, no one institution's policy. You still work under a licence and a brokerage's compliance, so this is more choice, not freedom from rules.
Answer four quick questions and we will email you the three guides that fit where you are today.
Whatever brokerage you talk to, compare net income after split, fees, lead cost, admin, technology, marketing, time and support. A high split with desk fees and no processing often nets less than a lower split with those carried. Run every offer through the worksheet, ours included.
Licensing and renewal fees, errors and omissions insurance, association dues, a CRM, a phone plan that is now yours, a car that is now a business expense, marketing, and income tax you now remit yourself. Most established brokers run 10 to 20 percent of gross commission in costs. Budget for it in the first year rather than discovering it at tax time.
Compliance, payroll and deal processing at head office. Top tier lender status from your first submission. The Deal Desk for files you have not placed before. The broker portal at no cost, and BrokerDam, an AI powered CRM built for Canadian brokers, at a member rate. Compensation is top tier competitive and set against your volume; we go through it, fees included, on the call.
This is general information for brokers considering a move, not legal, tax or financial advice. Your employment agreement, your province and your own numbers decide the specifics; read the agreement with a lawyer before you act on any of this.
The conversation is confidential and nothing is said to your employer. Clients you originate as a broker are yours, including the renewal and the referral. The client list you built at the bank stays at the bank, and we will not ask you for it. What we carry is the licensing paperwork, the lender registrations and the first hard files while you learn where they go.
Leaving a bank mobile mortgage specialist role to become a broker in BC, Alberta or Ontario: licensing, the income model, lender choice and your contract.
Non solicit clauses, privacy law and the client list that cannot leave with you: what a banker turned broker can and cannot do with existing relationships.
Nine steps from the bank to a brokered book: licence, brokerage, orientation, plan, network, first file, book, specialty, scale, and the support at each.
Commercial bankers are closer to a commercial brokerage book than any new broker: the clients, the analysis and the language are there. What changes.
A confidential conversation about what your transition could look like: your numbers, your timeline, your network. Nothing is said to your employer.