100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2017 and 2018
HB5542

 

Introduced , by Rep. Nick Sauer

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
205 ILCS 635/2-2
205 ILCS 635/2-4  from Ch. 17, par. 2322-4
205 ILCS 635/4-8.3
205 ILCS 635/5-9
205 ILCS 635/4-8 rep.

    Amends the Residential Mortgage License Act of 1987. Provides for a list of specified activities that constitute violations of the Act (rather than a list of required averments that must be attached to an application for a license under the Act). Provides that a licensee filing a Mortgage Call Report is not required to file a report of applicable annual activities with the Secretary of Financial and Professional Regulation. Provides that specified licensee disclosures do not apply to any licensee providing notices of changes in loan terms pursuant to the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Know Before You Owe mortgage disclosure procedure (rather than excluding licensees limited to solicit residential mortgage loan applications as approved by the Secretary of Financial and Professional Regulation). Makes conforming changes. Repeals provisions concerning a requirement that the Secretary of Financial and Professional Regulation conduct, as part of an examination of each licensee, a review of the licensee's loan delinquency data. Replaces "Commissioner" with "Secretary" in order to update references to the Secretary of Financial and Professional Regulation. Effective immediately.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB5542LRB100 17500 XWW 32669 b

1    AN ACT concerning regulation.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Residential Mortgage License Act of 1987 is
5amended by changing Sections 2-2, 2-4, 4-8.3, and 5-9 as
6follows:
 
7    (205 ILCS 635/2-2)
8    Sec. 2-2. Application process; investigation; fee.
9    (a) The Secretary shall issue a license upon completion of
10all of the following:
11        (1) The filing of an application for license with the
12    Director or the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and
13    Registry as approved by the Director.
14        (2) The filing with the Secretary of a listing of
15    judgments entered against, and bankruptcy petitions by,
16    the license applicant for the preceding 10 years.
17        (3) The payment, in certified funds, of investigation
18    and application fees, the total of which shall be in an
19    amount equal to $2,700 annually.
20        (4) Except for a broker applying to renew a license,
21    the filing of an audited balance sheet including all
22    footnotes prepared by a certified public accountant in
23    accordance with generally accepted accounting principles

 

 

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1    and generally accepted auditing standards which evidences
2    that the applicant meets the net worth requirements of
3    Section 3-5. Notwithstanding the requirements of this
4    subsection, an applicant that is a subsidiary may submit
5    audited consolidated financial statements of its parent,
6    intermediary parent, or ultimate parent as long as the
7    consolidated statements are supported by consolidating
8    statements which include the applicant's financial
9    statement. If the consolidating statements are unaudited,
10    the applicant's chief financial officer shall attest to the
11    applicant's financial statements disclosed in the
12    consolidating statements.
13        (5) The filing of proof satisfactory to the Secretary
14    Commissioner that the applicant, the members thereof if the
15    applicant is a partnership or association, the members or
16    managers thereof that retain any authority or
17    responsibility under the operating agreement if the
18    applicant is a limited liability company, or the officers
19    thereof if the applicant is a corporation have 3 years
20    experience preceding application in real estate finance.
21    Instead of this requirement, the applicant and the
22    applicant's officers or members, as applicable, may
23    satisfactorily complete a program of education in real
24    estate finance and fair lending, as approved by the
25    Secretary Commissioner, prior to receiving the initial
26    license. The Secretary Commissioner shall adopt promulgate

 

 

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1    rules regarding proof of experience requirements and
2    educational requirements and the satisfactory completion
3    of those requirements. The Secretary Commissioner may
4    establish by rule a list of duly licensed professionals and
5    others who may be exempt from this requirement.
6        (6) An investigation of the application averments
7    required by Section 2-4, which investigation must allow the
8    Secretary Commissioner to issue positive findings stating
9    that the financial responsibility, experience, character,
10    and general fitness of the license applicant and of the
11    members thereof if the license applicant is a partnership
12    or association, of the officers and directors thereof if
13    the license applicant is a corporation, and of the managers
14    and members that retain any authority or responsibility
15    under the operating agreement if the license applicant is a
16    limited liability company are such as to command the
17    confidence of the community and to warrant belief that the
18    business will be operated honestly, fairly and efficiently
19    within the purpose of this Act. If the Secretary
20    Commissioner shall not so find, he or she shall not issue
21    such license, and he or she shall notify the license
22    applicant of the denial.
23    The Secretary Commissioner may impose conditions on a
24license if the Secretary Commissioner determines that the
25conditions are necessary or appropriate. These conditions
26shall be imposed in writing and shall continue in effect for

 

 

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1the period prescribed by the Secretary Commissioner.
2    (b) All licenses shall be issued to the license applicant.
3    Upon receipt of such license, a residential mortgage
4licensee shall be authorized to engage in the business
5regulated by this Act. Such license shall remain in full force
6and effect until it expires without renewal, is surrendered by
7the licensee or revoked or suspended as hereinafter provided.
8(Source: P.A. 98-1081, eff. 1-1-15; 99-15, eff. 1-1-16.)
 
9    (205 ILCS 635/2-4)  (from Ch. 17, par. 2322-4)
10    Sec. 2-4. Prohibited acts and practices for licensees.
11Averments of Licensee. It is a violation of this Act for a
12licensee subject to this Act to Each application for license
13shall be accompanied by the following averments stating that
14the applicant:
15        (a) fail to Will maintain at least one full service
16    office within the State of Illinois if required to do so
17    pursuant to Section 3-4 of this Act;
18        (b) fail to Will maintain staff reasonably adequate to
19    meet the requirements of Section 3-4 of this Act;
20        (c) fail to Will keep and maintain for 36 months the
21    same written records as required by the federal Equal
22    Credit Opportunity Act, and any other information required
23    by regulations of the Secretary Commissioner regarding any
24    home mortgage in the course of the conduct of its
25    residential mortgage business;

 

 

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1        (d) fail to Will file with the Secretary Commissioner
2    or Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry as
3    applicable, when due, any report or reports which it is
4    required to file under any of the provisions of this Act;
5        (e) engage Will not engage, whether as principal or
6    agent, in the practice of rejecting residential mortgage
7    applications without reasonable cause, or varying terms or
8    application procedures without reasonable cause, for home
9    mortgages on real estate within any specific geographic
10    area from the terms or procedures generally provided by the
11    licensee within other geographic areas of the State;
12        (f) engage Will not engage in fraudulent home mortgage
13    underwriting practices;
14        (g) make Will not make payment, whether directly or
15    indirectly, of any kind to any in house or fee appraiser of
16    any government or private money lending agency with which
17    an application for a home mortgage has been filed for the
18    purpose of influencing the independent judgment of the
19    appraiser with respect to the value of any real estate
20    which is to be covered by such home mortgage;
21        (h) fail to file Has filed tax returns (State and
22    Federal) for the past 3 years or filed with the Secretary
23    Commissioner an accountant's or attorney's statement as to
24    why no return was filed;
25        (i) engage Will not engage in any discrimination or
26    redlining activities prohibited by Section 3-8 of this Act;

 

 

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1        (j) knowingly Will not knowingly make any false
2    promises likely to influence or persuade, or pursue a
3    course of misrepresentation and false promises through
4    agents, solicitors, advertising or otherwise;
5        (k) knowingly Will not knowingly misrepresent,
6    circumvent or conceal, through whatever subterfuge or
7    device, any of the material particulars or the nature
8    thereof, regarding a transaction to which it is a party to
9    the injury of another party thereto;
10        (l) fail to Will disburse funds in accordance with its
11    agreements;
12        (m) commit Has not committed a crime against the law of
13    this State, any other state or of the United States,
14    involving moral turpitude, fraudulent or dishonest
15    dealing, and that no final judgment has been entered
16    against it in a civil action upon grounds of fraud,
17    misrepresentation or deceit which has not been previously
18    reported to the Secretary Commissioner;
19        (n) fail to Will account or deliver to the owner upon
20    request any personal property such as money, fund, deposit,
21    check, draft, mortgage, other document or thing of value
22    which it is not in law or equity entitled to retain under
23    the circumstances;
24        (o) engage Has not engaged in any conduct which would
25    be cause for denial of a license;
26        (p) become Has not become insolvent;

 

 

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1        (q) submit Has not submitted an application for a
2    license under this Act which contains a material
3    misstatement;
4        (r) demonstrate Has not demonstrated by course of
5    conduct, negligence or incompetence in performing any act
6    for which it is required to hold a license under this Act;
7        (s) fail to Will advise the Secretary Commissioner in
8    writing, or the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and
9    Registry, as applicable, of any changes to the information
10    submitted on the most recent application for license or
11    averments of record within 30 days of said change. The
12    written notice must be signed in the same form as the
13    application for license being amended;
14        (t) fail to Will comply with the provisions of this
15    Act, or with any lawful order, rule or regulation made or
16    issued under the provisions of this Act;
17        (u) fail to Will submit to periodic examination by the
18    Secretary Commissioner as required by this Act;
19        (v) fail to Will advise the Secretary Commissioner in
20    writing of judgments entered against, and bankruptcy
21    petitions by, the license applicant within 5 days of
22    occurrence;
23        (w) fail to Will advise the Secretary Commissioner in
24    writing within 30 days of any request made to a licensee
25    under this Act to repurchase a loan in a manner that
26    completely and clearly identifies to whom the request was

 

 

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1    made, the loans involved, and the reason therefor;
2        (x) fail to Will advise the Secretary Commissioner in
3    writing within 30 days of any request from any entity to
4    repurchase a loan in a manner that completely and clearly
5    identifies to whom the request was made, the loans
6    involved, and the reason for the request;
7        (y) fail to Will at all times act in a manner
8    consistent with subsections (a) and (b) of Section 1-2 of
9    this Act;
10        (z) knowingly Will not knowingly hire or employ a loan
11    originator who is not registered, or mortgage loan
12    originator who is not licensed, with the Secretary
13    Commissioner as required under Section 7-1 or Section 7-1A,
14    as applicable, of this Act;
15        (aa) charge Will not charge or collect advance payments
16    from borrowers or homeowners for engaging in loan
17    modification; or and
18        (bb) structure Will not structure activities or
19    contracts to evade provisions of this Act.
20    A licensee who fails to fulfill obligations of an averment,
21to comply with this Section averments made, or otherwise
22violates any of the provisions of averments made under this
23Section shall be subject to the penalties in Section 4-5 of
24this Act.
25(Source: P.A. 97-891, eff. 8-3-12; 98-1081, eff. 1-1-15.)
 

 

 

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1    (205 ILCS 635/4-8.3)
2    Sec. 4-8.3. Annual report of mortgage brokerage and
3servicing activity. On or before March 1 of each year or the
4date selected for Mortgage Call Reports under Section 4-9.1 of
5this Act, each licensee shall file a report with the Secretary
6Commissioner that discloses shall disclose such information as
7the Secretary Commissioner requires. A licensee filing a
8Mortgage Call Report is not required to file an annual report.
9Exempt entities as defined in subsection (d) of Section 1-4
10shall not file the annual report of mortgage and servicing
11activity required by this Section.
12(Source: P.A. 96-112, eff. 7-31-09.)
 
13    (205 ILCS 635/5-9)
14    Sec. 5-9. Notice of change in loan terms.
15    (a) No licensee may fail to do either of the following:
16        (1) Provide timely notice to the borrower of any
17    material change in the terms of the residential mortgage
18    loan prior to the closing of the loan. For purposes of this
19    Section, a "material change means" any of the following:
20            (A) A change in the type of loan being offered,
21        such as a fixed or variable rate loan or a loan with a
22        balloon payment.
23            (B) A change in the term of the loan, as reflected
24        in the number of monthly payments due before a final
25        payment is scheduled to be made.

 

 

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1            (C) An increase in the interest rate of more than
2        0.15%, or an equivalent increase in the amount of
3        discount points charged.
4            (D) An increase in the regular monthly payment of
5        principal and interest of more than 5%.
6            (E) A change regarding the requirement or amount of
7        escrow of taxes or insurance.
8            (F) A change regarding the requirement or payment,
9        or both, of private mortgage insurance.
10        (2) Timely inform the borrower if any fees payable by
11    the borrower to the licensee increase by more than 10% or
12    $100, whichever is greater.
13    (b) The disclosures required by this Section shall be
14deemed timely if the licensee provides the borrower with the
15revised information not later than 3 days after learning of the
16change or 24 hours before the residential mortgage loan is
17closed, whichever is earlier. If the licensee discloses a
18material change more than the 3 days after learning of the
19change but still 24 hours before the residential mortgage loan
20is closed, it will not be liable for penalties or forfeitures
21if the licensee cures in time for the borrower to avoid any
22damage.
23    (c) If an increase in the total amount of the fee to be
24paid by the borrower to the broker is not disclosed in
25accordance with this Section, the broker shall refund to the
26borrower the amount by which the fee was increased. If the fee

 

 

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1is financed into the residential mortgage loan, the broker
2shall also refund to the borrower the interest charged to
3finance the fee.
4    (d) The requirements of this Section do not apply to a
5licensee providing a notice of change in loan terms pursuant to
6the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Know Before
7You Owe mortgage disclosure procedure pursuant to the federal
8Truth in Lending Act and amendments promulgated under 12 CFR
91026 and the federal Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act and
10amendments promulgated under 12 CFR 1024. Licensees limited to
11soliciting residential mortgage loan applications as approved
12by the Director under Title 38, Section 1050.2115(c)(1) of the
13Illinois Administrative Code are not required to provide the
14disclosures under this Section as long as the solicitor does
15not discuss the terms and conditions with the potential
16borrower.
17(Source: P.A. 95-691, eff. 6-1-08.)
 
18    (205 ILCS 635/4-8 rep.)
19    Section 10. The Residential Mortgage License Act of 1987 is
20amended by repealing Section 4-8.
 
21    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
22becoming law.