Professional Designations - meaningless letters?

I've recently been looking for feedback from other Mortgage Professionals in Canada in my group on Linked In. There is quite a debate as to whether or not professional designations such as the AMP (accredited mortgage professional) designation is all it's cracked up to be. Personally, I feel it doesn't change the core of a person's commitment to ethical behavior and high standards. Regardless of any designation and continuing education requirement, anyone that would want to consider themselves a "professional" would do this by default.

There's Advocis in the financial planning world, AMP and others in the Mortgage worls (at least in Canada). I'm interested in the answer to this question - US or Canadian based - doesn't matter.

Are people hiding under a designation? A sheep in wolf's clothing will eventually become unveiled.