6-912. Certificate of exemption

A. A person who is exempt from licensure pursuant to this article and articles 2 and 3 of this chapter as a federally chartered savings bank that is registered with the nationwide mortgage licensing system and registry may file a written application with the department for a certificate of exemption for the following purposes:

1. Registering with the department except that the registration shall not affect the exempt status of the applicant.

2. Sponsoring one or more mortgage loan originators.

3. Fulfilling any reporting requirements.

4. Reasonably supervising the activities of a mortgage loan originator who is licensed pursuant to article 4 of this chapter and who is employed by or under exclusive contract with the applicant.

B. A person shall apply for a certificate of exemption or renewal of a certificate of exemption in writing on the forms, in the manner and accompanied by the information prescribed by the deputy director. The deputy director may require additional information on the experience, background and competency of the applicant and the responsible individual designated by the applicant.

C. The department may charge a fee for processing the original or renewal application for a certificate of exemption and for other costs incurred by the department.

D. An exempt person shall notify the deputy director that the person has designated a responsible individual to actively manage the activities of the mortgage loan originator licensees. The responsible individual may be located in this state or in the state where the primary business of the bank is conducted and shall have at least three years of experience in the business of making mortgage loans or equivalent experience in a related business. The responsible individual may supervise one or more licensed mortgage loan originators in this state.

E. Within ten days after learning that a responsible individual will cease managing the licensees' activities, an exempt person must notify the deputy director.  Within ninety days after the notification is received by the deputy director, the exempt person must replace the responsible individual with a person who meets the qualifications prescribed by subsection D of this section and must notify the deputy director of the replacement.  A certificate of exemption expires if either of the following occurs:

1. The exempt person is not placed under active management of a qualified responsible individual.

2. The exempt person does not provide notice of replacement of the responsible individual to the deputy director as prescribed by this section.

F. After reviewing the application for a certificate of exemption and after verifying the submitted information, the department shall issue the certificate of exemption.

G. An exempt person who sponsors a loan originator on an exclusive contract shall comply with section 6-991.03.

H. The deputy director may deny a certificate of exemption to a person or suspend or revoke a certificate of exemption if the deputy director finds that an applicant or certificate holder has done any of the following:

1. Violated any applicable law, rule or order.

2. Refused or failed to furnish, within a reasonable time, any information or make any report that may be required by the deputy director.

3. Had a final judgment entered against the applicant or certificate holder in a civil action on grounds of fraud, deceit or misrepresentation and the conduct on which the judgment is based indicates that it would be contrary to the interest of the public to allow the applicant or certificate holder to manage a loan originator.

4. Had an order entered against the applicant or certificate holder involving fraud, deceit or misrepresentation by an administrative agency of this state, the federal government or any other state or territory of the United States and the facts relating to the order indicate that it would be contrary to the interest of the public to allow the applicant or certificate holder to manage a loan originator.

5. Made a material misstatement or suppressed or withheld information on the application for a certificate of exemption or any document required to be filed with the deputy director.

I. If a person to whom a certificate of exemption is issued or who has applied for a certificate of exemption under this article is indicted or informed against for forgery, embezzlement, obtaining money under false pretenses, extortion, criminal conspiracy to defraud or a like offense, and a certified copy of the indictment or information or other proper evidence of the indictment or information is filed with the deputy director, the deputy director may suspend the certificate of exemption issued to the exempt person or refuse to grant a certificate of exemption to an applicant pending trial on the indictment or information.

J. Every person to whom a certification of exemption is issued pursuant to this section shall deposit with the deputy director, before doing business as a registered exempt person, a bond executed by the registered exempt person as principal and a surety company authorized to do business in this state as surety.  The bond shall be conditioned on the faithful compliance of the registered exempt person, including the registered exempt person's directors, officers, members, partners, trustees and employees, with this article. The bond is payable to any person injured by the wrongful act, default, fraud or misrepresentation of the registered exempt person, or the registered exempt person's directors, officers, members, partners, trustees and employees and to this state for the benefit of the person injured. Only one bond is required for any person, firm, association or corporation irrespective of the number of officers, directors, members, partners or trustees who are employed by or are members of such firm, association or corporation. A suit may not be commenced on the bond after the expiration of one year following the commission of the act on which the suit is based, except that claims for fraud or mistake are limited to the limitation provided in section 12-543, paragraph 3. If an injured person commences an action for a judgment to collect from the bond, the injured person shall notify the deputy director of the action in writing at the time of the commencement of the action and shall provide copies of all documents relating to the action to the deputy director on request. The bond required by this section is $200,000.