Mortgage Industry Update

Licensing Updates

License Types	As of July 2021	As of July 2020
Mortgage Broker Main Office	347	324
Mortgage Broker Branch Office	193	217
Consumer Loan Main Office	812	728
Consumer Loan Branch Office	3,473	2,893
MLOs - Active	21,932	16,894
MLOs - Inactive	2,612	1,832

Preparing for Renewals

It might seem early to be talking about the renewal period, but taking action now can help make your experience smoother in November. The high number of MLO licensees means many individuals may be scrambling in the fall to get ready to renew. Here’s what can be done now to improve renewal success:

Complete the required continuing education (CE). All MLOs who need CE received a license item at the end of June. Companies can use this license item to track their MLOs’ education compliance. Nobody wants to spend the holidays completing CE at the last minute! To find CE courses, view the NMLS Master Course Catalog.
Resolve all outstanding license items on your NMLS record. License items are requests from regulators or the system to make required changes to your record and should be promptly addressed. Unresolved license items slow the processing of renewals and other requests. To check for license items, use the Individual License Status Quick Guide. If you believe a license item is resolved, email the person listed in the license item or MortgageLicensing@dfi.wa.gov

Temporary Partial Waiver/Reduction of Fees

In case you missed it, the Division of Consumer Services recently issued communication regarding the temporary waiver of portions of some fees and the temporary waiver of other fees in their entirety. Specifically, the fee waivers/reductions are in the following areas:

Examination Hourly Fees: Hourly fees charged on Consumer Loan licensee examinations are temporarily waived for the period of July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2022. Please note that licensees must still pay travel expenses in connection with examinations, if any.
Annual Assessments on Residential Mortgage Loans: The assessment on the following categories of loans will be temporarily waived for 2021 activity: residential mortgage loans in portfolio on December 31, 2021 and residential mortgage loans brokered and purchased during 2021. Residential mortgage loans made will be assessed, with the assessment capped at $200,000. The annual assessment for calendar year 2021 is due by March 1, 2022.
Mortgage Loan Originator (MLO) Renewal Fees: MLO renewal fees for the 2022 calendar year will be reduced from $155 to $75. This is a temporary waiver of $80 per MLO renewal for the calendar year 2022. The renewal period for MLOs opens on November 1, 2021.

Tips from the Licensing Unit

Our Licensing Unit wants to pass along some important information for those assisting MLOs in filing applications or maintaining their license.

Unresolved License Items – Licensees are submitting new sponsorship requests for MLOs who have unresolved license items. Before sponsoring a MLO, check to ensure the individual does not have license items or that they make a filing to resolve the license item.
Update Identifying Information Section – When making a new filing or assisting with making a new filing for a MLO, be sure to verify the data in the Identifying Information section of the MLO record is updated. The email and phone number(s) especially are used to communicate with the MLO and often aren’t updated when changing employers.
Misplaced Document Upload – Be careful when placing documents in the Individual Document Upload section. An increasing number of MLOs are putting things like criminal history or credit documents in the Legal Name section. Review the Document Upload Descriptions and Examples which outlines what type of documents should be uploaded and where.

Mortgage Broker Forum Updates

The twice-yearly Mortgage Broker Forum meeting was held virtually in March 2021. The agenda covered the legislation allowing MLOs to work from home without the home being licensed and a brief Licensing and Examination unit update. The next meeting will be in October 2021.

For information on the Mortgage Broker Forum, contact Jeff Lorsch, 206-200-5363, or financeman@evergreenstatemortgage.com

Upcoming Dates

August 14 - Q2 Mortgage Call Report Filing Deadline

FYI Financial News

Summer 2021