Monthly mortgage summary, Mar. 2013

Monthly Mortgage Summary

Georgia Department of Banking & Finance ~ Non-Depository Financial Institutions Division
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Inside this Issue:
Advertising Dollars 2 should Generate Sales, not Fines
Company 2 Compliance
Checklist
Mortgage Call 3 Report Reminder
New SAFE MLO 3 Test with Uniform State Component
Administrative 4 Actions
Fine Information 4
Licenses Revoked, 5 Withdrawn or Expired
Licenses Approved 6 or Reinstated
Customer Service 13 Stars
Contact 14 Information

Advertising Dollars should Generate Sales, not Fines
Billboards, flyers, radio ads and web sites are all considered advertisements for purposes of the Georgia Residential Mortgage Act and must satisfy all requirements of Section 7-1-1016 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated (O.C.G.A.) and Department Rule 80-11-1-.02. Advertisements for loans regulated by GRMA:
1) may not be false, misleading, or deceptive;
2) shall contain the name, license number, valid unique Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry identifier, and an office address which conforms to a name, license number, valid unique NMLSR identifier and office address on record with the Department; and,
3) shall include the words "Georgia Residential Mortgage Licensee" or, for those advertisers licensed in more than one state, a listing of Georgia as a state in which the advertiser is licensed.
Additionally, every person required to be licensed or registered under GRMA is required to maintain a record of samples of its advertisements, including commercial scripts of all radio and television broadcasts for examination by the Department.
The reason often cited for advertising violations is that a loan officer or a branch manager, without company knowledge or approval, distributed nonconforming flyers or published a website that was missing one or more of the required advertising elements. To avoid such violations, management should put in place adequate policies, procedures, guidelines, and controls for advertising that assure compliance with the provisions of GRMA.
NDFI Outreach AND UPCOMING SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
Deputy Commissioner for Non-Depository Financial Institutions Rod Carnes will be speaking
at the MBAG Compliance Forum 2013 on April 18th at the Hilton Atlanta NE, Norcross, GA. He will also be speaking at "Affordable Housing Trends, Challenges and Solutions" on April 19th at the Courtyard Marriott, Decatur, GA.
Commissioner Braswell and Deputy Commissioner Carnes will be speaking at Morehouse
College on April 30th in the Massey Leadership Auditorium.

"Safeguarding Georgia's Financial Services"

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March 2013

Company Compliance Checklist
Timely review and respond (as appropriate) to Department communications The Department primarily communicates with its licensees electronically via our monthly newsletter, directly via email, and by placing deficiencies on a licensee's NMLS record. All communications from the Department are equally important. Be sure to timely respond to any Department request. To ensure you receive all Department communications it is important that all contact information be kept up to date on NMLS and that licensees review their NMLS records frequently to ensure there are no outstanding requests from the Department. Failure to respond timely may subject your license to fines or administrative action.
File the mortgage call report All broker and lender licensees are required to complete and submit a Mortgage Call Report if licensed during any part of a reporting period, even if the licensee had no reportable activity during the period. Obtain help from NMLS to ensure mortgage call reports are filed correctly and do not wait until the last minute to do so. The fine for failure to file the mortgage call report was reduced from $1,000.00 to $100.00, but the potential for license revocation remains. The Department is actively reviewing mortgage call report data for accuracy and will request supporting documentation during examinations.
Adequately supervise employees to ensure origination activities are performed by licensed MLOs
Supervision requires daily management and oversight to comply with the GRMA and Department Rules; just like ignorance of the law is no excuse, neither is the excuse of a rogue employee. Put policies and procedures in place that provide firm operating guidelines within which your employees should work. Ultimately the broker or lender is responsible for the actions of all of its employees. See Department Rule 80 -11-3-.01(4.1)
Pay fines and fees Fines assessed by the Department are due within thirty (30) days of assessment. No request requiring Department approval will be granted if a licensee has fines or fees outstanding. Department Rule 80-11-3.01(2). Applications by companies with unpaid fines and fees may be administratively withdrawn; no application fees for an administratively withdrawn application will be refunded.

COMMONLY USED ACRONYMS
Department -- Georgia Department of Banking and Finance GRMA -- Georgia Residential Mortgage Act MCR -- Mortgage Call Report MLO -- Mortgage Loan Originator NMLS or NMLSR -- Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System & Registry O.C.G.A. -- Official Code of Georgia Annotated

March 2013

Page 3

Mortgage Call Report Reminder
This is a reminder that the Mortgage Call Report required by O.C.G.A. Section 7-1-1004.1 is due within 45 days of the end of every calendar quarter. First quarter data (January 1 March 31, 2013) must be filed through the NMLSR by May 15, 2013.
Companies that fail to file quarterly MCRs prior to the deadline will be assessed a fine and may subject their Georgia license to revocation. Any outstanding fines owed to the Department must be paid through its secure website at: https://bkgfin.dbf.state.ga.us/MortgageDocs/MtgFinePay.html.
For more information about the requirements surrounding the MCR, please refer to the NMLSR website at: http://mortgage.nationwidelicensingsystem.org/slr/common/mcr/Pages/default.aspx.

Quarters

Time Period

MCR Deadline

Quarterly Due Dates for the Residential Mortgage Loan Activity (RMLA) component of the MCR (Due within 45 days of the end of every calendar quarter):

Q1

(January 1 March 31)

May 15

Q2

(April 1 June 30)

August 14

Q3

(July 1 September 30)

November 14

Q4

(October 1 December 31)

February 14

New SAFE MLO Test with Uniform State Component
As noted in the previous Monthly Mortgage Summary, the new national MLO test with a uniform state component became available on April 1, 2013. The new test administered by the NMLS is meant to streamline the licensing process for originators seeking to obtain licenses in multiple states.
Beginning April 1, 2013, the Department adopted the Uniform State Test ("UST"). For more information please review the Uniform State Test Implementation Information available directly on the NMLS's website.
Please pay specific attention to the Candidate Enrollment Scenarios, which were written to help new applicants and existing licensees determine if and how the implementation of the UST will impact their licensing requirements; particularly over the January - April, 2013 timeframe.

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March 2013

ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS
Cease and Desist Orders Which Became Final
Nationwide Loan Processing Network, LLC, El Dorado Hills, CA - Order to Cease and Desist issued
02/25/2013 became final 03/29/2013.

Consent Orders Which Became Final
Nicholas Justin Yeargin, Atlanta, GA (license# 28863) - Consent Order issued 03/07/2013 became final
03/07/2013.

Fine Information

FINE REASON AND COUNT

2 Fines for Advertising 39 Fines for Mortgage Call Report Filed Late in NMLS
2 Fines for Doing Business w/ Unlicensed Entity

1 Fine for Failure to Perform Background Check 44 Fines for GRMA ($10) fees not paid

OFFICE CLOSING
This is a reminder that the Department will be closed on Monday, April 22nd for Confederate Memorial Day.

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CUSTOMER SERVICE STARS
It is the Department's goal to provide excellent customer service by meeting and exceeding the expectations of our customers. Along those lines, we would like to recognize the following individuals and/or teams for going above and beyond in serving our customers:
Senior Financial Mortgage Examiner Andy Reid and Assistant Financial Examiner Bradley DeLettera The Department received comments from a customer stating: "I just want to let you know that you have a great staff. These days most people don't offer any praise, just criticism. Andy Reid has been a great source of information that I have utilized many time over the past few years. About three years ago he came to our office and gave a presentation as part of your outreach program that was in place at the time. I am glad you have been able to retain him because he is truly an asset to the state. Bradley DeLettera did a solid job also."
Senior Financial Mortgage Examiner Fernando Ornelas The Department received comments from a customer stating: "We would like to commend the Department and more importantly Fernando Ornelas for his professionalism and courtesy while he was here."

CONGRATULATIONS AND GREAT JOB TO THIS MONTH'S CUSTOMER SERVICE STAR!!

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Georgia Department of Banking and Finance
2990 Brandywine Road Suite 200
Atlanta, Georgia 30341-5565
Phone: (770) 986-1269 Fax: (770) 986-1029 or 1655
Email: dbfmort@dbf.state.ga.us
We're on the Web! dbf.georgia.gov

March 2013
The Department is the state agency that regulates and examines banks, credit unions, and trust companies chartered by the State. The Department also has regulatory and/or licensing authority over mortgage brokers/processors, lenders and loan originators, money service businesses, internaonal banking organizaons, and bank holding companies
conducng business in Georgia.
Our MISSION is to promote safe, sound, compeve financial services in Georgia through innovave, responsive regulaon and supervision.
Our VISION is to be the best financial services industry regulator in the country Progressive. Proacve. Service-Oriented.

Sign-up to Receive this Publication
This monthly publication highlights topics and activities pertaining to the Department's regulation of state-licensed or registered mortgage brokers, lenders and loan originators. It is delivered to interested parties via e-mail and is also available from the Department's website at: http://dbf.georgia.gov under Publications, Mortgage Summary.
If you would like to be added to our distribution list, send an e-mail to dbfpress@dbf.state.ga.us stating your name and e-mail address. Please be sure to include "Subscribe to Monthly Mortgage Summary" in the Subject line.