Insights Archives | Page 30 of 31 | APPROVED

District of Columbia moves to dismiss lawsuit alleging city’s student loan servicer regulations are preempted by federal law

InsightsBy APPROVED Licensing September 14, 2018

On September 7, the District of Columbia filed a memorandum in support of its motion to dismiss a lawsuit claiming that the city’s regulations and requirements for student loan servicers are preempted by federal law. The plaintiff, a D.C.-based trade group whose membership consists of national student loan servicers, argues in its complaint that various provisions of District of Columbia…

Sports betting and licensing

InsightsBy APPROVED Licensing September 7, 2018

Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Murphy v. NCAA, a number of states are expected to legalize some form of sports betting. Each state will institute its own regulatory compliance framework, with many likely borrowing heavily from those states with more mature sports betting industries (like Nevada and New Jersey). Those seeking to establish…

APPROVED Checkpoint: Surety bonds

APPROVED Checkpoint, InsightsBy APPROVED Licensing September 7, 2018

Surety bonds are a common license application requirement. A surety bond binds the company named in the bond to the regulator named in the bond, ensuring that the amount of the bond can be recovered against the company in the event of harm caused by the company’s violation of applicable law. Some surety bond amounts…

Minnesota regulator takes new position on sales finance company licensing requirement

InsightsBy APPROVED Licensing August 31, 2018

The Minnesota Department of Commerce (the Department) has revised its position on who is required to be licensed as a sales finance company under the Minnesota Motor Vehicle Retail Installment Sales Act. (“Sales finance company” is defined, in part, as “a person engaged … in the business of purchasing retail installment contracts in [Minnesota] from…

1st Circuit holds homeowners who defaulted on an allegedly unlicensed mortgage loan cannot escape time bars for their claims

InsightsBy APPROVED Licensing August 30, 2018

On August 23, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit held that homeowners who defaulted on a refinance loan on their Massachusetts property could not void the transaction or enjoin their property’s foreclosure sale. The appellate court determined that the homeowners’ claims that the lender violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Real Estate…

New Jersey amends mortgage statute, includes “transitional mortgage loan originator license”

InsightsBy APPROVED Licensing August 30, 2018

On August 24, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed AB 2035, which amends the New Jersey Residential Mortgage Lending Act and certain related statutes. Among other technical and clarifying changes, the amendments create a framework for the issuance of a “transitional mortgage loan originator license,” which would allow an “out-of-state mortgage loan originator” or a “registered…

Personal e-mail address and telephone number now required for New York personal questionnaire

InsightsBy APPROVED Licensing August 24, 2018

Financial services companies that have applied for a license issued by the New York State Department of Financial Services are likely familiar with the personal questionnaire that control persons are required to complete. The questionnaire requests a wealth of information—from residential, work, and education history, to the names of parents and dependents. Recently, the NYSDFS…

Illinois updates Residential Mortgage License Act

InsightsBy APPROVED Licensing August 22, 2018

On August 14 and 10, the Illinois governor signed HB 4404 and SB 2615, which amend the Illinois Residential Mortgage License Act of 1987. Effective immediately, SB 2615, now Public Act 100-0795, requires, among other things, that mortgage loan advertisements in Illinois, whether print or electronic, reference the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS) and Registry’s Consumer…

Conference of State Bank Supervisors announces single, national exam for mortgage loan originator licensing

InsightsBy APPROVED Licensing August 14, 2018

On August 8, the Conference of State Bank Supervisors announced that all states and U.S. territories now use a single, common exam to assess mortgage loan originators (MLOs) in order to simplify the licensing process and streamline the mortgage industry. MLSs who pass the National SAFE MLO Test with Uniform State Content (National Test) will no longer be required…

Maryland Court of Appeals holds foreign securitization trusts do not need to be licensed in the state as collection agencies

InsightsBy APPROVED Licensing August 10, 2018

On August 2, the Maryland Court of Appeals, in a consolidated appeal of four circuit cases, held that foreign statutory trusts are not required to obtain a debt collection agency license under the Maryland Collection Agency Licensing Act (MCALA) before filing foreclosure actions in state circuit courts. The decision results from two cases consolidated before the Court…

Georgia Department of Banking and Finance issues cease and desist over licensing violation involving bitcoin

InsightsBy APPROVED Licensing July 31, 2018

On July 26, the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance (Department) announced the issuance of a cease and desist order against a bitcoin trading platform. According to the Department, the company allegedly engaged in the sale of payment instruments and money transmissions without first acquiring a valid license or applicable exemption in violation of the state’s financial institutions code.…

Improving your odds on the gambling frontier

InsightsBy APPROVED Licensing July 24, 2018

Buckley attorneys Andrew Louis, Kathryn Ryan, and Tim Lange authored a SportsBusiness Journal article, “Improving your odds on the gambling frontier,” which examined the challenges that gaming companies face as they expand sports betting into new states. Click here to read the full article. Originally published in SportsBusiness Journal; reprinted with permission.

Connecticut governor signs amendments to state banking statutes

InsightsBy APPROVED Licensing June 29, 2018

On June 14, the governor of Connecticut signed HB 5490, which makes various amendments to the state’s banking statutes, including standardizing various requirements across several mortgage and nonmortgage licensing types. Among other things, the law (i) extends the commissioner’s authority over certain mortgage-related licensees (mortgage lenders, brokers, and originators; correspondent lenders, and processors or underwriters) to…

New Hampshire enacts amendments to banking and consumer credit laws

InsightsBy APPROVED Licensing June 29, 2018

On June 8, the governor of New Hampshire signed HB 1687, to clarify the applicability of various state banking and consumer credit laws. Among other changes, the law (i) clarifies information required to be provided in a note, agreement, or promise to pay that is entered into by a small, title, or payday lender; (ii) prohibits…

District Court rules South Dakota banking regulator exceeded authority in revoking payday lender’s license

InsightsBy APPROVED Licensing June 5, 2018

On May 29, the U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota denied a motion to dismiss filed by the director of the South Dakota Division of Banking (defendant), ruling that the defendant exceeded his authority when he revoked a payday lender’s (plaintiff) operating license instead of initiating a cease and desist order, and that he…

Louisiana governor signs amendments relating to consumer loan licensing

InsightsBy APPROVED Licensing May 31, 2018

On May 15, the Louisiana governor signed SB171, which amends a state statute that prescribes when a person acquiring or controlling ownership interest in a consumer loan licensee must obtain approval from the state’s commissioner. Under SB171, written approval by the commissioner must now be received for any person acquiring or controlling “[25] percent or more…

Maryland governor signs provisions amending Maryland Consumer Loan Law’s small lending requirements

InsightsBy APPROVED Licensing May 23, 2018

On May 15, the Maryland governor signed legislation to establish requirements for lenders making covered loans in the state. Among other things, HB1297 increases the threshold for which a loan is subject to small lending requirements within the Maryland Consumer Loan Law (MCLL) from $6,000 to $25,000. The law also prohibits (i) lenders who are not licensed…

Georgia amends state code provisions related to financial institutions

InsightsBy APPROVED Licensing May 18, 2018

On May 3, the Georgia governor signed into law an act amending provisions of the Official Code of Georgia applicable to the state’s Department of Banking and Finance (Department) and financial institutions generally, including banks, credit unions, licensed sellers of payment instruments, and mortgage lenders and brokers. Among other things, HB 780 grants the Department and/or…

New York Senate introduces bill to enact state charters for on-line lenders

InsightsBy APPROVED Licensing May 8, 2018

On May 2, the New York Senate introduced a bill that, if passed, would establish a new article under the state’s banking law to provide for the chartering and regulating of internet lending services corporations (on-line lenders). Among other things, the “New York limited state charter for internet lending services,” S8340, would (i) authorize the New York Department…

NYDFS enters next phase in use of nationwide licensing system

InsightsBy APPROVED Licensing April 27, 2018

On April 25, the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) announced the next phase in its initiative to manage the licensing and regulation of all nondepository financial institutions operating in the state. Beginning May 1, budget planners and premium finance companies will be able to transition their licenses to the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System and Registry…

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