Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley recently signed legislation that will expedite mortgage loan originator (MLO) licensing for registered MLOs. SB 1091 requires the Commissioner of Financial Regulation to waive the state criminal history records check for any applicant who was employed as a registered MLO within 45 days before the date of application for a Maryland license.

Maryland had originally considered the creation of a transitional MLO license regime. Although the new expedited license process allows registered MLOs to begin engaging in the business of loan origination in Maryland faster, it is more limited in scope than the transitional MLO license initially debated. As we have previously reported in the Mortgage Banking Update, Virginia, North Carolina, and Ohio are the only three states to have passed transitional licensing initiatives.

The law is effective October 1, 2014.

Louisiana to Require Residential Mortgage Servicers to Obtain a License

Governor Bobby Jindal recently signed HB 807/Act 260 into law. Similar to mortgage lenders, brokers, and originators, residential mortgage servicers are now subjected to the Louisiana SAFE Act and are required to obtain a mortgage servicer license. Under the law, "mortgage servicing" is defined as "collecting or remitting payment for another, or the right to collect or remit payments for another, or any of the following: principal, interest, tax, insurance, or other payment under a mortgage loan." The new law becomes effective on June 30, 2014.

In addition, Governor Jindal signed SB 241/Act 293 into law. Effective June 30 2014, the law authorizes the Commissioner of the Office of Financial Institutions to collect and compile information and data from all licensees concerning the operation, function, and extent of all consumer loan activities. The information must be reported by the licensee by March 1 of each year through the NMLS. The law permits the Commissioner to collect, among other information for the preceding year:

• The total number and dollar amount of consumer loans originated
• The total number and dollar amount of consumer loans outstanding
• The aggregate amount of fees earned, including interest, service charges, late fees, origination fees, documentation fees, and insufficient funds fees
• The total number of consumer loans in default or collection status and the balance of those loans as of the reporting date

The total number of consumer loans reduced to judgment and the principal amount of these judgments