Mortgage Lenders Licensure
Bill Heads to Governor
Bill Provides Consumer Protection
for Homebuyers
May 15, 2007
Tuesday AM
The Alaska Senate on Monday unanimously passed HB 162, a bill
that will bring mortgage lenders working in Alaska under state
regulation and licensure. Sponsored by Rep. Bob Lynn (R-Anchorage),
the bill will provide a higher level of consumer protection for
the thousands of Alaskans who obtain financing for home and property
loans.
"We license working Alaskans from tattoo artists and hair
stylists to lawyers and real estate agents, yet the people who
help guide you during one of the most important decisions you
will ever have to make buying a home currently do
not," Lynn said. "HB 162 corrects this problem by bringing
this portion of the commercial banking industry under the auspices
of the Division of Banking and Securities. With the laws and
regulations of mortgage lending and loans constantly in flux,
and the advent of internet and on-line mortgage companies, it
is eminently important to step in and establish guidelines and
ground rules for lenders and agents."
HB 162 will require licensure of mortgage lenders, brokers, and
loan originators working in Alaska. It sets up a fee schedule
for the license, and requires an applicant to pass a competency
exam to confirm that he or she has a basic understanding of loan
industry duties, laws, regulations, and general knowledge of
the loan process. The bill requires licensees to be bonded. The
license is good for two years, and the bill provides a process
for renewal, inactivation, and reactivation.
The bill provides a process by which complaints can be investigated
and licensees disciplined. In addition to state statutes, the
bill gives the division the authority to require compliance by
a licensee with a number of federal mortgage lending and finance
laws. The bill also enacts a list of prohibited activities, including
certain types of refinancing, and gives the division the power
of enforcement.
The bill establishes an originator surety fund as a separate
fund in the state's general fund, which will be funded by fees
charged to licensees, and which will cover consumer losses in
the event of prohibited activity by a licensee.
HB 162 will be transmitted to the governor for signature.
Source of News:
Alaska House Majority
www.legis.state.ak.us
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