Referral partner
A third party, real-estate agent, wealth advisor, developer, who directs a client to a broker in exchange for a regulated fee. The referral partner performs no credit-intermediation act; they pass on a qualified lead. The arrangement must be formalized and disclosed transparently to the borrower.
Key points
- The referral partner only passes a qualified lead to the broker, without performing any intermediation act.
- The arrangement must be formalized by a signed referral agreement between both parties.
- The referral partner's remuneration is contingent on the financing actually completing.
- The borrower must be informed of the existence and amount of remuneration paid to the referral partner.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a referral partner and an IOBSP agent?
A referral partner is limited to passing on a contact and cannot present, advise on or negotiate a loan: crossing this line would make them an unregistered intermediary, which is unlawful. An IOBSP agent is authorized to go further in the advisory and referral process precisely because they operate under an ORIAS registration. The boundary is sometimes fine but legally decisive.
Why formalize the relationship with a referral partner through a written agreement?
The written agreement protects both the broker and the referral partner by precisely defining the scope of the intervention (contact transmission only), remuneration conditions and confidentiality obligations. It also allows the transparency requirement toward the borrower to be met and demonstrates arrangement compliance if a regulatory inspection occurs.
How to structure a referral partner's remuneration without legal risk?
Remuneration must be contingent on the loan actually completing (funds released) and not on the mere passing of a contact. The amount must be reasonable given the service provided, disclosed to the borrower and mentioned in the capital-search mandate. Any disproportionate or opaque commission risks being recharacterized and exposing the broker to sanctions.
In practice
A partner real-estate agency directs one of its buyers to an affiliated broker: the referral agreement specifies that the agency will receive a fixed fee only if the loan is released, and the borrower is informed of this in the capital-search mandate.
Official sources
- Commercial intermediaries (commercial agent, business introducer) · Bpifrance Création
- The banking-operations intermediary (IOBSP) · ABE Info Service (Banque de France / ACPR)
- Single register of intermediaries · ORIAS