On August 10, 2017, the District of Columbia Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking started accepting applications and transition fillings for the Student Loan Servicer License and Student Loan Servicer Branch License on NMLS. More information can be found here.

Maryland Amends Mortgage Loan Originator Provisions

Maryland has amended certain provisions of its financial regulations regarding mortgage loan originators (MLOs), including, but not limited to, the following:

• Definitions for “average prime offer rate” and “higher-priced mortgage loan” have been revised, and now have the same meaning as stated in 12 CFR Part 1026.
• New provisions have been added addressing the approval or denial process for obtaining a MLO license. For instance, the Commissioner must approve or deny an application for an initial license, a renewal license, or a license amendment within 60 days after receiving a completed application, which includes a surety bond and required fees. If the Commissioner notifies an applicant that the application is incomplete, the Commissioner must itemize the steps required to complete the application. In the event that the application remains incomplete, and the applicant was given the itemized steps to complete the application and not less than 15 days to correct the incompleteness, the Commissioner may deem the incomplete application withdrawn.
• New provisions have been added for permitting licensees to conduct mortgage lending business at certain limited locations different from the address appearing on the license. More specifically, an MLO may take a loan application or offer or negotiate terms of a mortgage loan at a location other than the address that appears on the license or licenses of the MLO’s employer if neither the MLO nor the MLO’s employer: (1) owns or leases the location for the purpose of conducting mortgage lending business; (2) indicates or suggests by use of signage that the MLO or the MLO’s employer utilizes the location for taking mortgage loan applications or offering or negotiating terms of mortgage loans; (3) advertises that the MLO or the MLO’s employer takes mortgage loan applications or offers or negotiates terms of mortgage loans at the location; (4) maintains work space, telephone service, or internet service at the location in the name of the MLO or the MLO’s employer for the purpose of conducting mortgage lending business; (5) receives mail relating to the mortgage lending business at the location; or (6) stores books or records relating to the mortgage lending business at the location.
• New provisions permit loan origination under an expired license—one resulting from not timely renewing the license—in a limited situation where the mortgage loan application was taken or received before the deadline for renewal, and the licensee's employer does not employ any other MLO licensed by the Commissioner.
• New provisions prohibit the use of false, misleading, or deceptive statements in advertising and/or solicitations. More specifically, an MLO may not publish, or cause to be published, any advertisement, or make or cause to be made any representation, that contains any false, misleading, or deceptive statements regarding the making, brokering, or servicing of mortgage loans, or misrepresents terms, availability, rates, or charges incident to a mortgage loan.
• New provisions clarify the information required to be published with advertisements and/or solicitation, including the name or approved trade name of the MLO’s employer and the MLO’s NMLSR Unique Identifier.  However, an MLO using social media for advertising purposes is not required to provide this particular information in each statement published through a social media platform, if such information is disclosed prominently on the MLO’s home page within that social media platform.

These provisions are effective as of July 31, 2017.

Utah Amends Residential Mortgage Practices and Licensing Rules

The Utah Department of Commerce, Division of Real Estate, made changes to the Utah Residential Mortgage Practices and Licensing Rules, including, but not limited to:

• The requirement that an individual applying for a mortgage loan originator (MLO) license must pass a test with a Utah-specific state component has been eliminated. Instead, the individual must pass an examination that consists of a national test with uniform state content.
• The procedures and requirements to apply for a lending manager license have been clarified. For instance, it has been clarified that within the 12-month period preceding the date of submission of a lending manager application to the division, an applicant must successfully complete certain tasks such as: registering in the nationwide database by selecting the "lending manager" license type and completing the associated MU4 form; authorizing a criminal background check and submitting fingerprints through the nationwide database; authorizing the nationwide database to provide the individual's credit report to the division for review; and paying the lending manager licensing fee. In addition, an applicant must pass both the state and national (general) components of the licensing examination.
• The experience required for a lending manager license has been clarified and failure to properly document such experience in one of the three methods provided will result in denial of the lending manager application.
• An individual who passes one test portion of the lending manager examination but fails the other may now retake the failed portion of the exam within 90 days of the date the individual achieves a passing score on the first portion of the exam.
• The timing of an application for lending manager licensure has been established.  A lending manager applicant has 90 days from achieving a passing score on both portions of the licensing exam and 12 months from completion of pre-licensing education to submit an application for licensure.
• A new requirement has been added requiring MLOs licensed in Utah on or after May 8, 2017, to complete a division-approved continuing education course for new loan originators prior to renewing at the end of the first full calendar year of licensure.

These provisions were effective on July 11, 2017.