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1st Circuit holds homeowners who defaulted on an allegedly unlicensed mortgage loan cannot escape time bars for their claims
On August 23, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit held that homeowners who defaulted on a refinance loan on their Massachusetts property could not void the transaction or enjoin their property’s foreclosure sale. The appellate court determined that the homeowners’ claims that the lender violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, the Truth in Lending Act, and the Massachusetts consumer protection statute were all time-barred. The homeowners argued that the statute of limitations never began to run because the lender was not licensed to lend money in the state, making the original note and mortgage “akin to forgeries and thus ‘void ab initio,’” but the court held that there was “no authority for this unusual proposition.” The court also refused to toll the limitations period under the doctrine of fraudulent concealment, which requires the plaintiff “to make a threshold showing of due diligence,” because the homeowners filed their claims more than five years after they retained counsel and ten years after they granted the mortgage at issue.
Illinois updates Residential Mortgage License Act
On August 14 and 10, the Illinois governor signed HB 4404 and SB 2615, which amend the Illinois Residential Mortgage License Act of 1987. Effective immediately, SB 2615, now Public Act 100-0795, requires, among other things, that mortgage loan advertisements in Illinois, whether print or electronic, reference the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS) and Registry’s Consumer Access website, except where exempted by the Secretary of Financial and Professional Regulation.
HB 4404, now Public Act 100-0851, provides that an entity that is engaged solely in independent loan processing through the sponsoring of individuals is considered exempt from the licensing requirements of the Residential Mortgage License Act but is required to annually apply through the NMLS for an exempt company registration for the purpose of sponsoring one or more licensed mortgage loan originators. The changes are effective immediately.
Conference of State Bank Supervisors announces single, national exam for mortgage loan originator licensing
On August 8, the Conference of State Bank Supervisors announced that all states and U.S. territories now use a single, common exam to assess mortgage loan originators (MLOs) in order to simplify the licensing process and streamline the mortgage industry. MLSs who pass the National SAFE MLO Test with Uniform State Content (National Test) will no longer be required to take additional state-specific tests in order to be licensed within any state or U.S. territory. The National Test is part of CSBS’ Vision 2020, which is geared towards streamlining the state regulatory system to support business innovation and harmonize licensing and supervisory practices, while still protecting the rights of consumers.
Find continuing InfoBytes coverage on CSBS’ Vision 2020 here.
Maryland Court of Appeals holds foreign securitization trusts do not need to be licensed in the state as collection agencies
On August 2, the Maryland Court of Appeals, in a consolidated appeal of four circuit cases, held that foreign statutory trusts are not required to obtain a debt collection agency license under the Maryland Collection Agency Licensing Act (MCALA) before filing foreclosure actions in state circuit courts. The decision results from two cases consolidated before the Court of Special Appeals and two actions appealed directly from circuit court proceedings, in which substitute trustees acting on behalf of two Delaware statutory trusts initiated foreclosure proceedings on homeowners who had defaulted on their mortgage payments. The homeowners challenged the foreclosure actions, arguing that the Delaware statutory trusts acted as collection agencies under MCALA by “obtain[ing] mortgage loans and then collet[ing] mortgage payments through communication and foreclosure actions” without being licensed. The lower courts dismissed all four foreclosure actions, finding the Delaware statutory trusts did not fall under the trust exemption to MCALA and were in the business of collecting consumer debts and therefore, subject to the MCALA licenses requirements, which both trusts had not obtained.
The overarching issue presented in the consolidated appeal was whether the Maryland General Assembly intended a foreign statutory trust, as owner of a delinquent mortgage loan, to obtain a license as a collection agency before directing trustees to initiate foreclosure proceedings. The court concluded that the plain language of MCALA was ambiguous as to the question and therefore, analyzed the legislative history and other similar statutes in order to determine the intent of the 1977 version of the law, as well as the reason the Department of Labor Licensing and Regulation revised the law in 2007 by departmental bill. Ultimately, the appeals court found the lower courts erred in dismissing the foreclosure actions against the homeowners, holding the General Assembly did not intend for MCALA to apply to foreclosure proceedings generally and therefore, foreign statutory trusts are not required to obtain a license under MCALA to initiate foreclosure proceedings.
Georgia Department of Banking and Finance issues cease and desist over licensing violation involving bitcoin
On July 26, the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance (Department) announced the issuance of a cease and desist order against a bitcoin trading platform. According to the Department, the company allegedly engaged in the sale of payment instruments and money transmissions without first acquiring a valid license or applicable exemption in violation of the state’s financial institutions code. Licensure requirements in the state apply to persons engaged in transactions involving virtual currency.
Connecticut governor signs amendments to state banking statutes
On June 14, the governor of Connecticut signed HB 5490, which makes various amendments to the state’s banking statutes, including standardizing various requirements across several mortgage and nonmortgage licensing types. Among other things, the law (i) extends the commissioner’s authority over certain mortgage-related licensees (mortgage lenders, brokers, and originators; correspondent lenders, and processors or underwriters) to include small loan lenders, sales finance companies, sales finance companies, mortgage servicers, money transmitters, check cashers, debt adjustors, debt negotiators, consumer collection agencies, student loan servicers, and lead generators; (ii) outlines provisions concerning the commissioner’s authority to conduct investigations and examinations; (iii) establishes that for loans under $5,000, the maximum annual percentage rate (APR) shall not exceed the lesser of 36 percent or the maximum APR for interest “permitted with respect to the consumer credit extended under the Military Lending Act”; and (iv) requires sales finance companies to acquire, maintain, and report to the commissioner certain demographic information on ethnicity, race, and sex for any retail installment contract or application for such contract covering the sale of a motor vehicle. The law is effective October 1, with the exception of specified provisions.
New Hampshire enacts amendments to banking and consumer credit laws
On June 8, the governor of New Hampshire signed HB 1687, to clarify the applicability of various state banking and consumer credit laws. Among other changes, the law (i) clarifies information required to be provided in a note, agreement, or promise to pay that is entered into by a small, title, or payday lender; (ii) prohibits small, title, or payday lenders from taking “any note, agreement, or promise to pay in which blanks are left to be filled in after the loan is made”; and (iii) makes certain other clarifying technical updates. The law is effective August 7.
District Court rules South Dakota banking regulator exceeded authority in revoking payday lender’s license
On May 29, the U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota denied a motion to dismiss filed by the director of the South Dakota Division of Banking (defendant), ruling that the defendant exceeded his authority when he revoked a payday lender’s (plaintiff) operating license instead of initiating a cease and desist order, and that he failed to provide sufficient opportunities for the plaintiff to respond. According to the court, the defendant “had good cause to revoke [the plaintiff’s] money lending licenses,” having determined that late fees on the plaintiff’s loan product violated the 36 percent finance charge cap in the state’s 2017 payday lending law. But the court also held that the defendant committed a “procedural error” when he chose to “revoke the licenses rather than afford[] a hearing or [give the plaintiff] an opportunity to bring its practices into compliance. . . .”
The court further granted the plaintiff’s motion for partial summary judgment “on the violation of procedural due process” for a period from September 13 through September 28, 2017—the date that the defendant issued a limited stay on the license revocation allowing the company to collect on loans issued before the South Dakota payday lending law went into effect. “In short, [the defendant’s] Order did not meaningfully advance the interests of the state (and indeed contravened state law), and the ‘substitute procedures’ sought by [the plaintiff] (and required under state law) would have accommodated the competing interests, provided due process, and not needlessly compromised the private interests of [the plaintiff],” the court wrote.
Louisiana governor signs amendments relating to consumer loan licensing
On May 15, the Louisiana governor signed SB171, which amends a state statute that prescribes when a person acquiring or controlling ownership interest in a consumer loan licensee must obtain approval from the state’s commissioner. Under SB171, written approval by the commissioner must now be received for any person acquiring or controlling “[25] percent or more of the ownership interest in a licensee”—an amount previously set at 50 percent or more. The amendments also strike the requirement that “[a]ny person who acquires or anticipates acquiring a [75] percent interest in a licensee shall file for a new license prior to acquiring ownership of said interest either incrementally over a period of time or as one transaction.” The amendments became effective upon signature by the governor.
Maryland governor signs provisions amending Maryland Consumer Loan Law’s small lending requirements
On May 15, the Maryland governor signed legislation to establish requirements for lenders making covered loans in the state. Among other things, HB1297 increases the threshold for which a loan is subject to small lending requirements within the Maryland Consumer Loan Law (MCLL) from $6,000 to $25,000. The law also prohibits (i) lenders who are not licensed in the state from making loans of $25,000 or less, unless the person is exempt from requirements under MCLL; (ii) a person contracting “for a covered loan that has a rate of interest, charge, discount, or other consideration greater than the amount authorized under state law”; and (iii) covered loans that would be a violation of the Military Lending Act. Loans that violate these provisions are deemed void and unenforceable except in limited circumstances. The law takes effect January 1, 2019.