InfoBytes Blog
Washington Clarifies Mortgage Loan Originator Rule
On January 24, the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions issued a clarification regarding an aspect of its mortgage originator rules and guidance. The Department previously advised that managers, including branch managers, must license individually as mortgage loan originators if they (i) take residential mortgage loan applications, negotiate the terms or conditions of residential mortgage loans, or hold themselves out as being able to conduct these activities; (ii) supervise loan processors or underwriting employees; or (iii) supervise licensed mortgage loan originators. The Department now states that (i) any manager or any person who takes a residential mortgage loan application in Washington, negotiates the terms or conditions of a residential mortgage loan on Washington property, or holds themselves out as being able to conduct those activities, must have a Washington MLO license, and that Washington licensed MLOs must work from a licensed location; (ii) any manager who directly supervises loan processor or underwriting employees must hold an MLO license, which can be from any state, and Washington licensed MLOs must work from a licensed location; and (iii) any manager who directly supervises Washington licensed MLOs must themselves hold a Washington MLO license and must work from a licensed location. For items (ii) and (iii) the Department states that it is looking for licensure of the day to day operational supervisors. Supervisory plans must be written and maintained as part of business books and records, and must include consideration of the location of the supervisor and employees supervised, the number of employees supervised, and the volume of work performed by the supervised employees.