The Registered Deposit Brokers Association has appointed Brian Smith to the role president and CEO, as the association rolls out the framework to execute its new mission to self-regulate the industry.

Smith, a 30-year veteran in the financial services industry, has served in executive positions across Canada in the banking, trust and insurance channels. His experience includes roughly a decade with Laurentian Bank, where he ran a region of the bank’s branches, and looked after its marketing efforts in English-speaking Canada. Most recently, Smith worked for AGF, where he ran a national mortgage sales team.

Smith is the first person to assume the role of the association’s president and CEO. He is responsible for leading the association through its strategic development and execution of its mission.

“We are pleased to have someone of Brian’s caliber and financial industry expertise joining us to lead our association, as we further our role as a Self Regulatory Organization,” said Mary Rygiel, chair of the board of directors of the RDBA. “This appointment is part of our ongoing commitment to dedicating new resources and expertise for the association, as we continue our growth across Canada.”

Smith said he’s excited about the new role. “I think it’s the next evolution in the life of this association, in becoming an SRO,” he said.

But he added that the RDBA has a lot of work to do in establishing the self-regulatory framework. In the next few months, the association is working on developing compliance and audit mechanisms, and rolling out an anti-money laundering training program for deposit brokers.

At a meeting in Toronto on Thursday, the RDBA’s board of directors approved a new set of rules and regulations for the association, taking into consideration comments that were submitted on a draft set of rules released earlier this year. But the rules will not be officially enacted until the association’s members vote to change its bylaws. Smith expects such a vote to be held next year, possibly at the RDBA’s annual conference in Victoria, B.C. in July.

As the industry recovers from the financial crisis and regulatory changes loom for the entire financial services industry, Smith believes that it is a good time for deposit brokers to be establishing regulations of their own.

“I don’t think there’s any doubt that we’re going to see things tighten up,” he said. “So it’s actually a good time for us to be developing all of this.”

Adds Smith: “It’s an exciting place to be right now.”

IE