Mortgage brokers in Italy: credit intermediaries and the OAM

What a mortgage broker does

Art. 128-sexies paragraph 1 defines the credit broker as the person who “mette in relazione, anche attraverso attività di consulenza ovvero tramite canale informatico, banche o intermediari finanziari … o altri soggetti autorizzati o abilitati all’erogazione del credito, con la potenziale clientela per la concessione di finanziamenti sotto qualsiasi forma”. The broker does not lend; a bank or financial intermediary does.

The financial agent is a different figure. Art. 128-quater paragraph 1 says the agent acts “su mandato diretto” of banks or other lenders, presents, proposes or concludes financing contracts, or assists consumers in the preparatory steps. Paragraph 4 says agents act on the mandate of a single intermediary (or intermediaries of the same group), with a limited exception for additional mandates. So one acts for a lender, the other connects you with several. For the rest of the purchase, see estate agents and notaries.

How the trade is regulated

• Reserved activity. Art. 128-sexies paragraph 2 says the professional practice of credit brokerage towards the public “è riservato ai soggetti iscritti in un apposito elenco tenuto dall’Organismo previsto dall’articolo 128-undecies”. Art. 128-quater paragraph 2 says the same for financial agents.
• Independence of the broker. Paragraph 4 of art. 128-sexies says the credit broker acts “senza essere legato ad alcuna delle parti da rapporti che ne possano compromettere l’indipendenza”.
• Independent advisers. Paragraph 2-bis puts a person who provides, professionally and exclusively, independent advice on financing in a special section of the list, and paragraph 3-bis says such a person “è remunerato esclusivamente dal cliente”.
• The OAM. Art. 128-undecies establishes the body, a private-law entity with organisational, statutory and financial autonomy, competent for “la gestione degli elenchi degli agenti in attività finanziaria e dei mediatori creditizi”, and says it enters people in the lists after checking the requirements and checks that those listed follow the rules.

How to check a broker yourself

1. Ask the broker, in writing, for the business name, the OAM registration number and the type of entry (credit broker, financial agent, independent adviser).
2. Check the OAM lists on the OAM website, the body named in art. 128-undecies.
3. Compare the name and the number with the documents you receive. If a lender or a bank is named, ask whether the broker acts on its mandate.

The lists show whether someone is entered. They do not say whether the offer is good for you.

Terms of use of the register

Not read. The OAM website returned an access-denied error to our requests, and we did not try to get round it. We therefore quote no terms of use for the OAM lists, and Payotte does not copy, collect or republish them. Read the terms on the OAM site before you reuse anything.

Questions to ask a broker

• Are you a credit broker, a financial agent or an independent adviser, and what is your OAM number?
• For which banks do you act, and are you tied to one of them by a mandate?
• How are you paid, by me, by the lender or by both, and what do I owe if I do not take the loan?
• Which offers have you compared, and what is the total cost of each in writing?
• Who holds the documents I give you, and what do you do with them?

Which professional to consult

For the property itself, an estate agent. For the deed, a notary. For the condition of the building, a surveyor or an architect. For legal or tax advice beyond published rules, a lawyer or tax adviser.