Mayer Brown has published a new edition of Licensing Link, a periodic publication that will keep you informed on hot topics and new developments in state licensing laws, and provide practice tips and primers on important issues related to state licensing across the spectrum of asset classes and financial services activities.
In this issue, we…
There were positive developments last week in connection with the recently announced licensing requirements for assignees of residential mortgage loans and installment loans in Maryland — a proposed legislative fix, an extended enforcement deadline, and a clarifying exception from the requirement.
As we discussed in our Legal Update last month, the Maryland Office of Financial Regulation (OFR) asserted that assignees of residential mortgage loans — including certain “passive trusts” that acquire or obtain assignments of residential mortgage loans in Maryland — must become licensed in Maryland prior to April 10, 2025, unless the assignee is expressly exempt under Maryland law. The guidance reflected the OFR’s understanding of an April 2024 decision by the Appellate Court of Maryland in Estate of Brown v. Ward that any assignee of any residential mortgage loan is required to obtain a Mortgage Lender license, and an Installment Loan license is required if the mortgage loans are made subject to the Credit Grantor provisions, regardless of whether the loans are open- or closed-end extensions of credit.
That guidance has caused significant turmoil in the Maryland residential mortgage markets, with significant practical concerns about requiring passive trusts to obtain a license and with certain industry participants suspending the purchase of Maryland mortgage loans.
To address these concerns, the OFR worked with industry participants to develop proposed legislation, the Maryland Secondary Market Stability Act of 2025 — two identical bills, Senate Bill 1026 and House Bill 1516, introduced on February 17, 2025.Continue Reading Update on Maryland Licensing for Loan Assignees
Members of Mayer Brown’s Financial Services team summarize the main takeaways of the CFPB’s proposal to amend the Regulation X mortgage servicing rules, focusing on the proposal to amend the requirements for mortgage servicers to assist borrowers in default who seek payment assistance, the proposed amendments to foreclosure safeguards during that process, and the CFPB’s…
New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed the Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act on December 30, 2022. The new law, which takes effect immediately, threatens to significantly constrain the ability of lenders, servicers, and investors to foreclose and may jeopardize their recovery, including with regard to pending foreclosure actions.
Read more in Mayer Brown’s Legal Update.
Pay close attention to New Jersey Bill A793, the Community Wealth Preservation Act, which the New Jersey legislature passed at the end of June and sent to the Governor for consideration. While I’m not steeped in the intricacies of state foreclosure laws, it appears the Act would cap a holder’s bid at foreclosure sale…
Federal regulators and Congress continue to release new guidance and requirements to assist residential mortgage loan borrowers facing economic hardships due to the pandemic. But in light of the anticipated volume of requests and associated burden on servicers, they also are offering some regulatory relief. This alert contains a summary of relevant mortgage servicing requirements,…
The California legislature was active in 2018, enacting several new requirements and provisions applicable to the financial services industry. Those requirements include an important and comprehensive privacy regime (the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, or CCPA), which establishes new protections for personal information that covered commercial enterprises collect. The CCPA becomes effective January 1,…
Foreign statutory trusts that acquire delinquent residential mortgage loans are NOT required to be licensed under the Maryland Collection Agency Licensing Act (the “Act”), based on an opinion released today by the Maryland Court of Appeals. The opinion reverses lower court rulings that called for such licensing. According to the opinion, the Act’s plain…
On November 7, Texas voters will have the opportunity to make some significant changes to the state’s homestead equity loan restrictions. As summarized below, Texas Proposition 2 will, if approved: (1) revise the strict fee limits for such loans; (2) add to the list of lenders that are authorized to make the loans; (3) eliminate the “once-a-home-equity-loan, always-a-home-equity-loan” rule; (4) allow borrowers to sign an affidavit of compliance regarding certain new refinancings of such loans; and (5) allow advances on lines of credit up to 80% loan-to-value (LTV) ratio.
The Texas Constitution imposes strict limits on the types of loans that validly may be secured by Texas homestead property. For home equity loans (other than purchase-money loans or rate/term refinances), the Texas Constitution imposes a long list of limitations and requirements, the violation of which invalidates the lien and can result in the forfeiture of principal and interest. A lender or holder has an opportunity to cure at least some of those violations. Since the limitations are part of the state constitution, relief can come only through legislative resolutions on which the public must then have the opportunity to vote.
Continue Reading Texas Voters Consider Big Changes to Home Equity Loan Restrictions
With all eyes on Washington, DC, and the press abuzz with each movement and action of the newly sworn-in President Trump, Maryland quietly published in the January 20, 2017 issue of the Maryland Register a highly-anticipated request for comment and proposed revisions to its regulations governing a wide range of mortgage finance licensing and practice…
