Washington, D.C. – October 1, 2014 – (RealEstateRama) — The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) announced today that the New York State Department of Financial Institutions and the Ohio Division of Financial Institutions have begun using the National SAFE mortgage loan originator (MLO) test with Uniform State Content on the Nationwide Multi-State Licensing System & Registry (NMLS), bringing the total number of state agencies using the test to 43.
The New York State Department of Financial Institutions and the Ohio Division of Financial Institutions regulate bank and non-bank mortgage lending, and are responsible for licensing individual MLOs employed by lenders and mortgage brokers who take loan applications or negotiate terms of residential mortgage loans with prospective homeowners.
Twenty state agencies initially adopted the National SAFE MLO test in April 2013. An additional 10 state agencies adopted the test in July 2013, five more agencies adopted the test in October 2013, and an additional eight agencies have adopted the test in 2014.
The test, which was first made available on April 1, 2013, combines both the national and state testing requirements of the SAFE Act and streamlines the license application process for MLOs seeking licenses in multiple states. For these adopting states, the new test replaces the separate, state-specific tests.
Since its release on April 1, 2013, approximately 35,000 MLOs have enrolled to take the National SAFE MLO test with Uniform State Content.
“The launch of the National SAFE MLO test has been an enormous success, and Ohio and New York’s adoption of the test is yet another step toward a single national test standard,” said Bob Entringer, Commissioner of the North Dakota Department of Financial Institutions and Chairman of the State Regulatory Registry LLC. “In general, state agencies that have adopted the test have witnessed a significant increase in mortgage license applications. This, along with the high number of MLOs enrolling to take the test, proves that the new test standard has been well-received by the industry for the efficiencies it brings to the licensing process and opportunity it brings for conducting business in multiple states.”
More information on the National SAFE MLO test with Uniform State Content is available here.
Background Information:
The Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 (SAFE Act) requires mortgage loan originators (MLOs) to pass the SAFE MLO test before they can be licensed with a state agency through the Nationwide Multi-State Licensing System and Registry (NMLS). Prior to April 2013, the test was comprised of two parts: a national component and a state component. In addition to passing the national component, MLOs seeking to hold licenses in multiple states were required to pass the state component for each state in which they wished to do business. Under the new National SAFE MLO Test with Uniform State Content, a license applicant who passes the test will not need to take any additional state-specific tests to hold a license within participating states.
To date, a total of 43 state agencies are using the UST. The remaining state agencies may elect to adopt the UST at a future date, but they are not required to do so. State agencies which choose not to adopt the UST will continue to require applicants to take and pass the current state specific test components.
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Media Contacts:
Catherine Woody, Vice President of Media and Industry Relations, cwoody (at) csbs (dot) org or 202.728.5733
Rockhelle Johnson, Senior Manager, Communications, rjohnson (at) csbs (dot) org or 202.407.7156
Matt Longacre, Manager, Communications, mlongacre (at) csbs (dot) org or 202.803.8091
About CSBS:
The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) is the nationwide organization of banking regulators from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. State banking regulators supervise nearly 5,200 state‐chartered financial institutions. Further, most state banking departments also regulate a variety of non-bank financial services providers, including mortgage lenders. For more than a century, CSBS has given state supervisors a national forum to coordinate supervision of their regulated entities and to develop regulatory policy. CSBS also provides training to state banking and financial regulators and represents its members before Congress and the federal financial regulatory agencies.
About SRR:
The Nationwide Multi-State Licensing System & Registry is owned and operated by State Regulatory Registry LLC. CSBS in cooperation with the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators (AARMR) established the State Regulatory Registry LLC (SRR) on September 29, 2006. A limited-liability company, SRR is to develop and operate nationwide systems for state regulators in the financial services industry. Such systems are intended to enhance state’s ability to protect consumers; improve supervision and enforcement of licensed entities; and streamline licensing and other processes for state agencies and the industry through the use of modern technology and centralizing redundant state agency operations.
About NMLS:
The Nationwide Multi-State Licensing System & Registry is a web-based system that allows state-licensed mortgage lenders, mortgage brokers, and loan officers to apply for, amend, update or renew a license online for all states using a single set of uniform applications. NMLS began operation on January 2, 2008. Further, passage of the SAFE Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 requires all mortgage loan originators (MLOs) to be registered or state-licensed through NMLS. MLOs employed by insured depository institutions and subsidiaries are to be registered, and all other MLOs are to be licensed by state mortgage regulators. Federal depository regulators have indicated that MLOs could begin registering on NMLS in January 2011.
