Kentucky is giving entities that merely hold the rights to service residential mortgage loans just over two months to obtain a license, unless they can provide exemption documentation.
On December 22, 2016, the Kentucky Department of Financial Institutions issued a Memorandum stating that it will require “master servicers,” as well as “subservicers,” to be licensed as mortgage companies under the Kentucky Mortgage Licensing and Regulation Act.
The Act requires a person to obtain a mortgage company license if (among other activities) it “directly or indirectly . . . services mortgage loans, or holds oneself out as being able to do so.” According to the Department’s recent Memorandum, a “master servicer” is any entity or individual that owns the right to perform servicing of a mortgage loan. The Department notes that a master servicer typically reserves the legal right to either perform the servicing itself or to do so through a subservicer. Since the Department concludes that a master servicer both holds itself out as being able to service loans and indirectly services them though a subservicer, a master servicer falls within the scope of the licensing requirement, unless an exemption applies.
Continue Reading Holders of Kentucky Mortgage Servicing Rights Must Obtain a License