Commissioner of Financial Regulation Mortgage Licensing Update
IN THIS ISSUE

Commissioner Testifies In Washington

Changes - How to Keep Your Record Current

Regulation Central

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QUICK LINKS

Employer Acknowledgement Statement  (Form, PDF document, 16KB, download Adobe Acrobat for free)
Interim Change Mortgage Originator Activity (Form, Word document, 29KB, download Word viewer for free)
Interim Changes – Mortgage Lender
Mortgage Lender License Applications (Original & Renewal)
Interim Changes – Mortgage Originator
Mortgage Originator Activity Since January 1, 2007 (Form, Word document, 30KB, download Word viewer for free)
Mortgage Originator License Applications (Original & Renewal)
Regulatory Advisory Quick Links
Letter to Mortgage Lender Licensee - New Laws Effective June 1, 2008

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WHAT'S NEW IN REGULATIONS?

The Commissioner has adopted the following new regulations which recently went into effect:

1. Transition to the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Revised Fee Schedule
(COMAR 09.03.06.02, .03, and .23-Mortgage Lenders)
(COMAR 09.03.09.02, .06 and .07-Mortgage Originators)

On January 1, 2009, new regulations went into effect that (i) begin the transition of Maryland mortgage lender and originator licensees to the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry (“NMLSR”), and (ii) set forth a new fee schedule for these licensees. 

Transition to the NMLSR 

To begin facilitating the transition of mortgage lender and originator licensees to the NLMSR, the new regulations eliminate the existing two-year staggered licensing terms and implement one-year calendar terms ending on December 31st.   Existing licensees will transition to the new licensing terms on renewal.  There will be certain modified terms for existing licensees during the NMLSR transition period depending on the renewal date.

 • Revised Fee Schedule

The following license fees are now in effect: (i) the annual license fee for mortgage lenders is $1,000; and (ii) the annual license fee for mortgage originators is $225.  There will be pro-rated fees for certain existing licensees during the NMLSR transition period depending on the renewal date and the length of the term. 

2.  Recordation of Instruments Securing Residential Property
(COMAR 09.03.11.01 and .02) 

On December 29, 2008, new regulations went into effect for filing mortgage lender and mortgage originator licensee information or, an affidavit in lieu of this information, with an instrument securing residential property.  The regulation includes a multi-use form of affidavit which may be used for a variety of circumstances.

3.  Notice of Intent to Foreclose and Notice of Filing (COMAR 09.03.12.01 through .03)

Also on December 29, 2008, new regulations went into effect replacing the emergency regulations for the Notice of Intent to Foreclose and the Notice of Filing (which provides notice of the filing of a foreclosure action). 

The new regulations include an alternative form of Notice of Intent to Foreclose which may be used in connection with homeowner's or condominium association and similar liens (the original Notice only addressed foreclosures relating to mortgage loans).  The new regulations also explicitly permit the Commissioner to receive copies of Notices of Intent to Foreclose electronically.  Finally, the new regulations modify the Notice of Filing to accommodate foreclosures resulting not only from the default of a mortgage loan, but also a default involving different types of liens, such as homeowner’s or condominium association liens.

Click here to review the new regulations through COMAR online.

Review COMAR 09.03.12 in its entirety:
Definitions
Notice of Intent to Foreclose
Notice of Filing

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MEET YOUR REGULATORS EVENT

Meet Your RegulatorsThe Office of Financial Regulation is holding regular “Meet Your Regulator” events at its offices on 500 N. Calvert Street in Baltimore.  These half-day sessions provide a regulatory overview for mortgage origination and include presentations by key personnel from the Office’s Licensing, Compliance, Complaint and Enforcement units.  While the program is designed for new licensees, it is open to all Maryland mortgage licensees and we would welcome your participation.  Please e-mail us at mtgnews@dllr.state.md.us for further information.

COMMISSIONER TESTIFIES IN WASHINGTON

On January 14, 2009, Commissioner Sarah Bloom Raskin was one of seven witnesses to testify before the Congressional Oversight Panel at a public hearing on regulatory reform of the financial sector. The panel is in the process of preparing a special report to Congress on regulatory reform.  Raskin, who serves as chairman of the Conference of State Bank Supervisors’ Legislative Committee, provided the panel with a state perspective on the nation’s financial regulatory structure and the TARP Program.

Raskin asserted that historical federal policy has fostered consolidation and failed to contain systemic risk.  Further, the government’s response, including the TARP, is serving to create even larger and more complex institutions that actually increase systemic risk with little regard for the needs of smaller institutions and the communities that they serve.

“We have often heard that the consolidation of financial regulation at the federal level is the ‘modern’ answer to the challenges of our financial system. I am here to challenge this assumption and ask you to challenge it as well,” she said.

The Commissioner urged the Oversight Panel to ensure that  TARP focused on the community banks that are so critical to the state’s economy.  “Our state-chartered banks may be too small-to-care at the federal level – but where I sit, in our cities and communities, they are too important to ignore,” she added.

“The current crisis is the result of well over a decade’s worth of policies that promoted consolidation, uniformity, preemption, and the needs of the global marketplace over those of the individual consumer.  If we have learned nothing else from this experience, we have learned that big organizations have big problems,” she said. 

In conclusion, Raskin suggested that policymakers should consider reforms that “promote diversity and create new incentives for the smaller, less troubled elements of our financial system, rather than rewarding the largest and most reckless.”

CHANGES - HOW TO KEEP YOUR RECORD CURRENT

It is important to notify the Commissioner of Financial Regulation, your Regulator, if you change your name and/or address. We update our website so consumers know where you are located. In addition, it isChanges - How to keep your record current not professional for you to relocate or change your name without notifying your Regulators.

Change of Address
Before a mortgage lender licensee may change the place of business for which its license is issued, the mortgage lender must: a) notify the Commissioner of the proposed change, and b) receive the written approval of the Commissioner. The Commissioner has sixty (60) days to act on the licensee’s request. If the licensee is not issued an approval or denial within sixty (60) days, the request is deemed approved.

Moving Without Approval
If you fail to provide the notice required by law, in addition to any sanctions which may be imposed by the Commissioner, you will be required to pay a surcharge in the amount of $500, and file with the Commissioner an application for a new license together with all applicable application and investigation fees.

Name Change
Maryland law is clear: “A person may not conduct any mortgage loan business at any location or under any name different from the address and name that appears on the person’s license.”

  • All mortgage lender licensees desiring a name and/or address change on their license will need to submit: a) notification of their desired name and/or address change to the Commissioner’s Licensing Unit; b) a bond rider reflecting the change; and c) the original license.

Change of Control
Prior to changing control of a mortgage lending business, the licensee must: a) notify the Commissioner of the proposed change in writing; b) make a written request that the Commissioner approve the proposed change; c) provide any information the Commissioner requires under this law; and d) receive written approval from the Commissioner.

The Commissioner shall approve or deny a request for change in control:        

  • within sixty (60) days of receiving the request
  • if the Commissioner requests additional information, then within sixty(60) days of receiving the additional requested information

 If the Commissioner does not approve or deny within sixty (60) days, the change in control shall be deemed approved.

Change of Control Without Approval
If you fail to receive prior approval for a change of control, the same penalties apply as for the change of address without approval.

Change of Employer/Name (Mortgage Originators)
“Unless the licensee notifies the Commissioner in writing in advance of a change in the licensee’s name or the licensee’s employer and pays to the Commissioner a license amendment fee of $75 for each notice provided . . ., an individual may not act as a mortgage originator under a name or for an employer that is different from the name and employer that appear on the license.”

A Maryland mortgage originator licensee who desires to change employers or change the name printed on his/her license must complete an online interim change and pay a $75.00 fee by credit card. Only online credit card payments are acceptable for this process. Other forms of payment will be returned to the licensee and delay the process.

In addition to the online form and payment, the individual must submit to the Commissioner’s Office:

  1. his/her original license;
  2. new original employer statement which is signed by an owner/officer of the new company; (Form, PDF document, 16KB, download Adobe Acrobat for free)
  3. if applicable, a copy of legal court documents or marriage certificate for name change; and
  4. an Affidavit regarding business conducted. (Form, Word document, 29KB, download Word viewer for free)

Originating Mortgages with a New Employer Before Submitting a Change of Employer
If you begin originating mortgages for an employer different from the employer that appears on your license before you apply for an interim change, penalties may be assessed.

Change of Entity
Maryland Mortgage Lender Licenses are nontransferable. If you desire to form a corporation and were originally licensed as an individual, you need to apply for a license for the corporation. You should retain the individual license and operate as an individual until the license for the corporation is approved. Once you receive the corporation’s license, you should surrender the individual license to this Agency. 

Also, if a corporation is not working because, perhaps, you and your partner are not getting along and you choose to form a new corporation, the license is not transferable to the new corporation. The new corporation must apply for its own license.

Unlicensed Locations
A Mortgage Lender Licensee may act as a mortgage lender under the license at the licensed place of business. Only one place of business per license.

Below are the exceptions under which mortgage business can be done at a location other than the one on the license:

  • Attorney’s office of the licensee or borrower
  • Title insurance company, title company, or the office of the attorney of the title company or title insurance company
  • A location to accommodate the borrower or borrower’s designee due to illness of the borrower.

For further information, see the Annotated Code of Maryland, Financial Institutions, § 11-501 et al and § 11-601 et al.

State of Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation
Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation Office of Financial Regulation
500 N. Calvert Street - Baltimore, Maryland 21202 - (410) 230-6155
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