Financial Advisor Who Owes A Duty To The Borrower?

Q: Under what theory does a mortgage broker become an independent financial advisor who owes a duty to the borrower?

A: A mortgage broker recommends a particular mortgage. A mortgage is a financial product. Therefore it seems to make sense to consider a mortgage broker to be a financial adviser of sorts. That may or may not mean that the broker is an FA in the sense of consumer protection legislation surrounding the financial services industry. A broker, as distinct from somone selling just one lender's products, is able to advise on a range of products from a spectrum of lenders. That's where the "independent" bit comes in, meaning he's not tied to just one lender. However, a full-blown IFA would be able to advise on rather more than just mortgages. Apart from

there being a 'possible' conflict of interests, how can my brother be sure that a higher offer has genuinely been made? This may force him to increase his offer against the 'phantom' bidder - if he chooses to take out a mortgage with this company they have then managed to obtain a better deal for the seller (fair enough) but also forced him to take out a bigger loan - which is favourable for the lender. If he chooses to take his mortgage custom elsewhere then the latter issue will not exist. I obviously appear very cynical about the whole affair but I would be interested to know if the broker has any legal obligation to reveal the presence of competing offers.