The Texas Department of Savings and Mortgage Lending held its 12th Annual Mortgage Industry Seminar on November 4, 2024. The Mortgage Industry Seminar was held in conjunction with the TMBA Education Symposium at the Hilton Dallas – Lincoln Centre. Commissioner Hector Retta and Department staff provided a review of fiscal year 2024 and discussed fiscal year 2025 priorities and initiatives. Slides for the Department presentations can be found here.
LICENSING:
Fee Structure
At its August 2024 meeting, the Finance Commission of Texas approved the Department’s fiscal year 2025 budget. The budget includes licensing fee increases for Residential Mortgage Loan Companies and Residential Mortgage Loan Originators (RMLOs), effective November 1, 2024. The new fee structure for Residential Mortgage Loan Originators is:
- New application fee – from $100 to $125 (plus a $20 recovery fee)
- Renewal fee – from $70 to $90
Beyond these individual fee increases, some entity fees were also increased, which can be found on the Department’s website.
Even with the increased fees, Texas’ licensing/registration fees remain among the lowest in the United States.
Renewals
Annual Renewal season began November 1, 2024. All licensees and registrants must renew by December 31, 2024.
The Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS) has a new login process that allows users to recover or reset a password without having to first contact the call center, plus users with multiple accounts may now access all their accounts using just one login. However, this requires users to update their username and password and establish account recovery details. This process must be completed first in order to renew.
Tips from NMLS for Licensees to prepare for NMLS renewal:
- Update your NMLS login credentials – follow the new NMLS login process to update username, password, and set up account recovery details.
- Review your NMLS record – log in and check to make sure your profile is accurate.
- Consolidate your NMLS accounts – use your new username and password to consolidate multiple accounts for convenient access and navigation.
- Review state-specific renewal requirements – state agencies begin publishing requirements, including deadlines and fees, in September.
- Access free, on-demand renewal training – the Conference of State Bank Supervisors develops a variety of resources for licensees to learn about the renewal process.
Additional information on NMLS renewal requirements is available on the Annual Renewal page of the NMLS Resource Center.
Common Reasons for Delay in Processing RMLO Applications
Some of the most common reasons for a delay in the processing of an RMLO application are shown below:
- Making payment by ACH (10 calendar day hold on the receipt of the funds).
- Current employer information does not match the Registered Location information.
- Mailing address does not match residential address.
- Not providing documents for Disclosure Questions that were answered “Yes.”
If applicable, these issues should be cleared before applying for an RMLO license.
Licensing Comparisons from 2023 to 2024
- Comparison of the total number of Licenses/Registrants (entity and mortgage loan originator licenses) in all “approved” statuses as of September 30 of each year:
- 2023: 49,373
- 2024: 46,821
- Comparison of the number of license requests received from January 1 to September 30 of each year:
- 2023: 8,160
- 2024: 8,404
- Comparison of the total number of license requests received in the month of September of each year:
- 2023: 670
- 2024: 851
EXAMINATIONS:
Common Mortgage Exam Violations
The Department maintains a list of common mortgage exam violations. The top violations for 2024 relate to unlicensed loan processors and loan originator assistants and are largely the same as violations found in previous years.
Continuing Education:
In a September 27, 2024 announcement, the Department discussed the state requirements for continuing education and the importance of appropriately complying with those requirements.
Rules:
At its October 25, 2024 meeting, the Finance Commission adopted rules proposed by the Department. These rules were recommended by the Department under the rule review process and include a reorganization of the existing rules to better match the structure of the Finance Code chapters that the Department enforces as well as several substantive additions and amendments to existing requirements.
The adopted rules will be published in an upcoming edition of the Texas Register, but can also be found here, beginning on page 184.
Generally, the Department expects the effective date of the new rules to be on or around November 24, 2024. The actual effective date will depend on when the rules are published in the Register. Our December MortgageLaw Minute will focus on these rules.
If you have any questions about this memo, licensing, examination, or regulatory questions, please reach out to caroline.jones@mortgagelaw.com. Please note that our firm is available for all services and issues relating to residential mortgage lending. Our team can be accessed through www.mortgagelaw.com/people.