Holders of Mortgage Servicing Rights are not Subject to Licensing as Mortgage Servicers in Nevada.

In July 2015, the Nevada legislature dealt the mortgage industry a new hand when it passed Assembly Bill 480 (2015) (“AB 480”) to provide for the licensing of mortgage loan servicers. The legislation provided for the new licensing obligation to go into effect on January 1, 2016. For months, as the Nevada Division of Mortgage Lending (the “Division”) “slow played” its hand, the mortgage industry anxiously waited to see how the cards would be played, and whether the ambiguously worded definition of mortgage servicer would be applied to license those investors who merely hold mortgage servicing rights, as well as entities that actually service mortgage loans. Proposed regulations establishing requirements for the licensure and supervision of mortgage servicers in Nevada, however, revealed a “tell” that licensing would be required, raising the stakes for holders of mortgage servicing rights. In addition, over the fall months, mortgage servicers had become increasingly worried about getting a “seat at the table” to service Nevada mortgage loans as the 2016 date to “buy in” was fast approaching, but license applications were not yet available from the state.