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Introduced Version Senate Bill 431 History

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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
Senate Bill No. 431

(By Senators Minard, Jenkins, McCabe and Plymale)

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[Introduced February 1, 2010; referred to the Committee on Banking and Insurance; and then to the Committee on Finance.]

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A BILL to amend and reenact §31-17-4 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; and to amend and reenact §31-17A-3, §31-17A- 4, §31-17A-6, §31-17A-12 and §31-17A-13 of said code, all relating to the licensing of residential mortgage brokers, lenders and loan originators by the Division of Banking; allowing the Commissioner of Banking to reduce or waive application fees, bond amounts and net worth requirements of nonprofit business entities, including community housing development organizations; providing that mortgage loan originators may be employed by only one mortgage broker or lender at any time; allowing the commissioner to reduce or waive the application fees for mortgage loan originators employed by nonprofit organizations or other community housing development organizations; providing that a mortgage loan originator license may not be transferred or assigned and that a mortgage loan originator changing employers must provide thirty days' prior notice to the commissioner and pay a fee of $50; increasing the amount of prelicensing education required for loan originators from twenty to twenty-two hours; providing a procedure for the commissioner to follow whenever taking an enforcement action under article seventeen-a, chapter thirty-one of said code; allowing any person not licensed as a mortgage lender or broker under article seventeen, chapter thirty-one of said code or article four, chapter forty-six-a of said code to register with the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry and provide a surety bond in the appropriate amount for any mortgage loan originators it employs; and allowing the commissioner to reduce or waive the bond amounts imposed by article seventeen- a, chapter thirty-one of said code for mortgage loan originators employed by nonprofit corporations or other nonprofit business entities, including community housing development organizations, if the commissioner determines that such action would not violate any applicable law.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §31-17-4 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted, and that §31-17A-3, §31-17A-4, §31-17A-6, §31-17A-12 and §31-17A-13 of said code be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 17. WEST VIRGINIA RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGE LENDER, BROKER AND SERVICER ACT.
§31-17-4. Applications for licenses; requirements; bonds; fees; renewals; waivers and reductions; per loan fee.

(a) In connection with an application for licensing as a mortgage lender or mortgage broker, the applicant shall, at a minimum, furnish to the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry information concerning the applicant's identity, including:
(1) Fingerprints for submission to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and any governmental agency or entity authorized to receive such information for a state, national and international criminal history background check; and
(2) Personal history and experience in a form prescribed by the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry and the commissioner, including the submission of authorization for the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry and the commissioner to obtain:
(A) An independent credit report obtained from a consumer reporting agency described in Section 603(p) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act; and
(B) Information related to any administrative, civil or criminal findings by any governmental jurisdiction.
(b) In order to reduce the points of contact which the Federal Bureau of Investigation may have to maintain for purposes of this article, the commissioner may use the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry or its designated vendor as a channeling agent for requesting information from and distributing information to the Department of Justice or any governmental agency.
(c) In order to reduce the points of contact which the commissioner may have to maintain, for purposes of this article, the commissioner may use the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry as a channeling agent for requesting and distributing information to and from any source so directed by the commissioner.
(d) Application for a lender's or broker's license shall each year be submitted under oath, in the form prescribed by the commissioner, and shall contain the full name and address of the applicant and, if the applicant is a partnership, limited liability company or association, of every member thereof, and, if a corporation, of each officer, director and owner of ten percent or more of the capital stock thereof and further information as the commissioner may reasonably require. Background and credit checks shall be conducted in accordance with this section for any officer, director or owner, directly or indirectly, of ten percent or more of the capital stock of a corporation or any member of a limited liability or partnership with, directly or indirectly, a ten percent or greater ownership interest. Any application shall also disclose the location at which the business of lender or broker is to be conducted.
(e) At the time of making application for a lender's license, the applicant therefor shall:
(1) If a foreign corporation, submit a certificate from the Secretary of State certifying that the applicant is registered with the Secretary of State to transact business in this state;
(2) Submit proof that he or she has available for the operation of the business at the location specified in the application net worth of at least $250,000;
(3) File with the commissioner a bond in favor of the state for the benefit of consumers or for a claim by the commissioner for an unpaid civil administrative penalty or an unpaid examination invoice in the amount of $100,000 for licensees with West Virginia annual loan originations of $0 to $3 million, $150,000 for West Virginia annual loan originations greater than $3 million and up to $10 million, and $250,000 for West Virginia annual loan originations over $10 million in a form and with conditions as the commissioner may prescribe and executed by a surety company authorized to do business in this state: Provided, That lender licensees who service West Virginia mortgage loans shall file with the commissioner a bond under the same conditions listed above in the amount of $200,000;
(4) Pay to the commissioner a license fee of $1,250 plus the actual cost of fingerprint processing and the processing fees assessed by the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry. If the commissioner shall determine that an investigation outside this state is required to ascertain facts or information relative to the applicant or information set forth in the application, the applicant may be required to advance sufficient funds to pay the estimated cost of the investigation. An itemized statement of the actual cost of the investigation outside this state shall be furnished to the applicant by the commissioner and the applicant shall pay or shall have returned to him or her, as the case may be, the difference between his or her payment in advance of the estimated cost and the actual cost of the investigation; and
(5) Submit a full and complete disclosure of any litigation or unresolved complaint filed by a governmental authority or class action lawsuit on behalf of consumers relating to the operation of the license applicant.
(f) At the time of making application for a broker's license, the applicant therefor shall:
(1) If a foreign corporation, submit a certificate from the Secretary of State certifying that the applicant is registered with the Secretary of State to transact business in this state;
(2) Submit proof that he or she has available for the operation of the business at the location specified in the application net worth of at least $10,000;
(3) File with the commissioner a bond in favor of the state for the benefit of consumers or for a claim by the commissioner for an unpaid civil administrative penalty or an unpaid examination invoice in the amount of $50,000 for licensees with West Virginia loan originations of $0 to $3 million, $75,000 for West Virginia loan originations greater than $3 million and up to $10 million, and $100,000 for West Virginia loan originations over $10 million in a form and with conditions as the commissioner may prescribe and executed by a surety company authorized to do business in this state: Provided, That the bond must be in the amount of $150,000 before a broker may participate in a table-funded residential mortgage loan;
(4) Pay to the commissioner a license fee of $350 plus the actual cost of fingerprint processing and the processing fees assessed by the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry; and
(5) Submit a full and complete disclosure of any litigation or unresolved complaint filed by a governmental authority or class action lawsuit on behalf of consumers relating to the operation of the license applicant.
(g) The aggregate liability of the surety on any bond given pursuant to the provisions of this section shall in no event exceed the amount of the bond.
(h) Nonresident lenders and brokers licensed under this article by their acceptance of the license acknowledge that they are subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of West Virginia and the service of process pursuant to section one hundred thirty- seven, article two, chapter forty-six-a of this code and section thirty-three, article three, chapter fifty-six of this code.
(i) The commissioner may elect to reduce or waive the application fees, bond amounts and net worth requirements imposed by this section for nonprofit corporations or other nonprofit business entities, including community housing development organizations, whose residential mortgage lending or brokering activities provide housing primarily to households or persons below the HUD-established median income for their area of residence.
(j) Every broker and lender licensee shall pay a fee of $5 for each residential mortgage loan originated, made or brokered in a calendar year. This fee shall be paid annually to for the benefit of the Division of Banking and remitted with the report required pursuant to subsection (b), section eleven of this article for loans made, brokered or originated during the previous calendar year. If a licensee ceases operation, it shall remit any fees due since the last reporting period when it relinquishes its license.
(k) If a claim for a consumer restitution is pending on a bond required pursuant to this section when the commissioner makes a claim for a civil administrative penalty or an unpaid examination invoice, the consumer claim shall be resolved before any payments may be made for an unpaid penalty or examination invoice.
ARTICLE 17A. WEST VIRGINIA SAFE MORTGAGE LICENSING ACT.
§31-17A-3. License and registration required.
(a) An individual, unless specifically exempted under subsection (c) of this section, shall not engage in the business of a mortgage loan originator with respect to any dwelling located in this state without first obtaining and maintaining annually a license under this article. Each licensed mortgage loan originator must register with and maintain a valid unique identifier issued by the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry. Mortgage loan originators licensed under this article may be employed by only one entity licensed or exempt from licensing under article seventeen of this chapter at any time.
(b) To facilitate an orderly transition to licensing and minimize disruption in the mortgage marketplace, the effective date for subsection (a) of this section:
(1) For all individuals other than individuals described in subdivision (2) of this subsection shall be January 31, 2010; and
(2) For all individuals licensed as mortgage loan originators before July 1, 2009, shall be January 1, 2011.
(c) The following are exempt from this article:
(1) Registered Mortgage Loan Originators, when acting for an entity described in subdivision (11), section two of this article;
(2) Any individual who offers or negotiates terms of a residential mortgage loan with or on behalf of an immediate family member of the individual;
(3) Any individual who offers or negotiates terms of a residential mortgage loan secured by a dwelling that served as the individual's residence; and
(4) A licensed attorney who negotiates the terms of a residential mortgage loan on behalf of a client as an ancillary matter to the attorney's representation of the client, unless the attorney is compensated by a lender, a mortgage broker or other mortgage loan originator or by any agent of such lender, mortgage broker or other mortgage loan originator.
(d) A loan processor or underwriter who is an independent contractor may not engage in the activities of a loan processor or underwriter unless such independent contractor loan processor or underwriter obtains and maintains a license under subsection (a) of this section. Each independent contractor loan processor or underwriter licensed as a mortgage loan originator must have and maintain a valid unique identifier issued by the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry.
(e) To implement an orderly and efficient licensing and transition process, the commissioner may establish interim policies and procedures for licensing and acceptance of applications as follows:
(1) Mortgage loan originators employed by or under exclusive contract to licensed mortgage brokers after the effective date of this article shall submit an application on a form prescribed by the commissioner, including all necessary information, fees and authorizations for investigation as the commissioner may determine necessary, and must meet the standards for licensure set forth in this article. Any license issued under this subdivision and any license current as of the effective date of this article will expire on December 31, 2010: Provided, That notwithstanding the licensing requirements under this section, an individual acting exclusively as an employee of a servicer who is engaging in loss mitigation efforts with respect to an existing mortgage transaction serviced by his or her employer is not required to meet the education, testing, background and licensing standards of this article until July 1, 2011, to the extent that this extension of time is not denied by guideline, rule, regulation or interpretive letter issued by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. In the event this extension of time is denied, such individuals shall apply for a license under this section within ninety days of the denial; and
(2) Mortgage loan originators employed by or under exclusive contract to licensed mortgage lenders and regulated consumer lenders shall comply with this article and submit all applications through the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry on or before January 31, 2010.
§31-17A-4. State license application and issuance.
(a) Applicants for a license must apply in a form as prescribed by the commissioner. Each form shall contain content as set forth by instruction or procedure of the commissioner and may be changed or updated as necessary by the commissioner in order to carry out the purposes of this article. The application must be submitted with an application fee of $50 plus the actual cost of fingerprint processing, together with any processing fee assessed by the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry. The commissioner may elect to reduce or waive the application fees for mortgage loan originators employed by nonprofit organizations or other community housing development organizations that serve the housing needs of households or persons below the HUD-established median income for their area of residence.
(b) The commissioner is authorized to establish relationships or contracts with the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry or other entities designated by the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry to collect and maintain records and process transaction fees or other fees related to licensees or other persons subject to this article.
(c) In connection with an application for licensing as a mortgage loan originator, the applicant shall, at a minimum, furnish to the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry information concerning the applicant's identity, including:
(1) Fingerprints for submission to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and any governmental agency or entity authorized to receive such information for a state, national and international criminal history background check; and
(2) Personal history and experience in a form prescribed by the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry and the commissioner, including the submission of authorization for the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry and the commissioner to obtain:
(A) An independent credit report obtained from a consumer reporting agency described in Section 603(p) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act; and
(B) Information related to any administrative, civil or criminal findings by any governmental jurisdiction.
(d) To reduce the points of contact which the Federal Bureau of Investigation may have to maintain, the commissioner may use the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry or its designated vendor as a channeling agent for requesting information from and distributing information to the Department of Justice or any governmental agency.
(e) To reduce the points of contact which the commissioner may have to maintain, the commissioner may use the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry as a channeling agent for requesting and distributing information to and from any source so directed by the commissioner.
(f) Nonresident mortgage loan originators licensed under this article by their acceptance of the license acknowledge that they are subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of West Virginia and the service of process pursuant to section one hundred thirty- seven, article two, chapter forty-six-a of this code and section thirty-three, article three, chapter fifty-six of this code.
(g) The commissioner may grant a provisional license to mortgage loan originators who have met all other requirements for licensing under this article but: (a) Have not passed a test regarding West Virginia mortgage laws and regulations provided that the provisionally licensed mortgage loan originator takes and passes that test within sixty days of the test becoming available; or (b) have not received the results of a criminal background check despite the good faith effort of the applicant to provide in a timely manner the information necessary to obtain a criminal background check.
§31-17A-6. Prelicensing and relicensing education of loan originators.

(a) To meet the prelicensing education requirement, a person must complete at least twenty twenty-two hours of education approved in accordance with subsection (b) of this section, which shall include at least:
(1) Three hours of federal law and regulations;
(2) Three hours of ethics, which shall include instruction on fraud, consumer protection and fair lending issues;
(3) Two hours of training related to lending standards for the nontraditional mortgage product marketplace; and
(4) Two hours of training related to West Virginia mortgage and consumer laws or issues.
(b) For purposes of subsection (a) of this section, prelicensing education courses shall be reviewed and approved by the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry based upon reasonable standards. Review and approval of a prelicensing education course shall include review and approval of the course provider.
(c) Nothing in this section precludes any prelicensing education course, as approved by the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry, that is provided by the employer of the applicant or an entity which is affiliated with the applicant by an agency contract, or any subsidiary or affiliate of such employer or entity.
(d) Prelicensing education may be offered either in a classroom, online or by any other means approved by the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry.
(e) The prelicensing education requirements approved by the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry in subdivisions (1), (2) and (3) and (4), subsection (a) of this section for any state shall be accepted as credit towards completion of prelicensing education requirements in West Virginia.
(f) A person previously licensed under this article subsequent to July 1, 2009, applying to be licensed again must prove that they have completed all of the continuing education requirements for the year in which the license was last held.
§31-17A-12. Enforcement authorities, violations and penalties.
(a) To ensure the effective supervision and enforcement of this article, the commissioner may:
(1) Deny, suspend, revoke, condition or decline to renew a license issued under this article for a violation of this article or rules or order or directive entered under this article;
(2) Deny, suspend, revoke, condition or decline to renew a license if an applicant or licensee fails at any time to meet the requirements of section five or eight of this article, or withholds information or makes a material misstatement in an application for a license or renewal of a license;
(3) Order restitution against persons subject to this article for violations of this article;
(4) Impose civil administrative penalties on persons subject to this article pursuant to subsections (b), (c) and (d) of this section; and
(5) Issue orders or directives under this article as follows:
(A) Order or direct persons subject to this article to cease and desist from conducting business, including immediate temporary orders to cease and desist;
(B) Order or direct persons subject to this article to cease any harmful activities or violations of this article, including immediate temporary orders to cease and desist;
(C) Enter immediate temporary orders to cease business under a license or interim license issued pursuant to the authority granted under section three if the commissioner determines that such license was erroneously issued or the licensee is currently in violation of this article; and
(D) Order or direct such other affirmative action as the commissioner deems necessary.
(b) The commissioner may impose a civil administrative penalty on a mortgage loan originator or person subject to this article if the commissioner finds, on the record after notice and opportunity for hearing, that such mortgage loan originator or person subject to this article has violated or failed to comply with any requirement of this article or any rule prescribed by the commissioner under this article or order issued under authority of this article.
(c) The maximum amount of penalty for each act or omission described in subsection (b) of this section shall be $25,000.
(d) Each violation or failure to comply with any directive or order of the commissioner is a separate and distinct violation or failure.
(e) If the commissioner takes any enforcement action under this article, he or she shall make and enter an order to that effect and shall cause a copy of that order to be served in person or by certified mail, return receipt requested, or in any other manner in which process in a civil action in this state may be served, on the applicant or licensee. The commissioner shall also submit a copy of any such order for publication in the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry when that functionality of the system becomes available. An applicant or licensee adversely affected by an order may request an appeal and shall be provided a hearing as provided in section fourteen, article seventeen of this chapter.
§31-17A-13. Surety bond required.
(a) Each mortgage loan originator must be covered by a surety bond in accordance with this section in favor of the state for the benefit of consumers or for a claim by the commissioner for an unpaid civil administrative penalty or unpaid examination invoice. If the mortgage loan originator is an employee or exclusive agent of a person subject to this article, article seventeen of this chapter, or article four, chapter forty-six-a of this code, the surety bond of those other such persons may be used in lieu of the mortgage loan originator's individual surety bond requirement. Any person not subject to licensing as a mortgage lender or broker under article seventeen, chapter thirty-one of this code or article four, chapter forty-six-a of this code that employs mortgage loan originators licensed under this article may elect to register with the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry and provide a surety bond in the appropriate amount for its mortgage loan originators.
(1) The surety bond must provide coverage for each mortgage loan originator in an amount as prescribed in subsection (b) of this section.
(2) The surety bond shall be in a form as prescribed by the commissioner.
(3) The commissioner may promulgate rules with respect to the requirements for such surety bonds as are necessary to accomplish the purposes of this article.
(b) The penal sum of the surety bond shall be maintained in an amount as required by article seventeen of this chapter for licensed mortgage lenders and brokers or article four, chapter forty-six-a of this code for regulated consumer lenders.
(c) When an action is commenced on a licensee's bond or any bond covering the activities of a licensee under this article, the commissioner may require the filing of a new bond.
(d) Immediately upon recovery upon any action on a bond covering any licensee under this article, a new bond shall be filed.
(e) The commissioner may elect to reduce or waive the bond amounts imposed by this section for mortgage loan originators employed by nonprofit corporations or other nonprofit business entities, including community housing development organizations, or any agency or instrumentality of this state, federal, county or municipal government whose residential mortgage lending or brokering activities provide housing primarily to households or persons below the HUD-established median income for their area of residence if the commissioner determines that a reduction or waiver would not violate any applicable law.




NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to improve the licensing and regulation of mortgage lenders, brokers and loan originators by: allowing the Commissioner of Banking to reduce or waive application fees, bond amounts, or net worth requirements for nonprofit business entities, including community housing development agencies and their employees, prevent the assignment or transfer of a mortgage loan originator license without notice to the commissioner, increase the amount of prelicensing education by two hours to ensure that all loan originators have received training in West Virginia law and regulations; providing an enforcement procedure for the commissioner to follow with mortgage loan originators; allowing persons who are not required to obtain a license as a mortgage lender or broker or regulated consumer lender who employ mortgage loan originators to register with the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry and provide a bond for their loan originators.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.
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