2026 -- H 7867 | |
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LC005415 | |
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND | |
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY | |
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2026 | |
____________ | |
A N A C T | |
RELATING TO FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS -- LICENSED ACTIVITIES | |
| |
Introduced By: Representative Joseph J. Solomon | |
Date Introduced: February 27, 2026 | |
Referred To: House Corporations | |
(Dept. of Business Regulation) | |
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: | |
1 | SECTION 1. Section 19-14-1 of the General Laws in Chapter 19-14 entitled "Licensed |
2 | Activities" is hereby amended to read as follows: |
3 | 19-14-1. Definitions. [Effective until January 1, 2027.] |
4 | Unless otherwise specified, the following terms shall have the following meanings |
5 | throughout chapters 14, 14.1, 14.2, 14.3, 14.4, 14.6, 14.8, 14.10, and 14.11 of this title: |
6 | (1) “Board of directors” means the formal body established by an entity that is responsible |
7 | for corporate governance and compliance with state and federal laws. |
8 | (1)(2) “Bona fide employee” shall mean an employee of a licensee who works under the |
9 | oversight and supervision of the licensee. |
10 | (2)(3) “Check” means any check, draft, money order, personal money order, or other |
11 | instrument for the transmission or payment of money. For the purposes of check cashing, travelers |
12 | checks or foreign denomination instruments shall not be considered checks. “Check cashing” |
13 | means providing currency for checks. |
14 | (3)(4) “Check casher” means a person or entity who or that, for compensation, engages, in |
15 | whole or in part, in the business of cashing checks. |
16 | (5) “Corporate governance” means the structure of a business entity and how it is managed |
17 | including the corporate rules, policies, processes, and practices used to oversee and manage the |
18 | business entity. |
19 | (6) “Covered mortgage servicer” means a nonbank mortgage servicer with servicing |
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1 | portfolios of two thousand (2,000) or more one to four (4) unit residential mortgage loans serviced |
2 | or subserviced for others, excluding whole loans owned, and loans being interim serviced prior to |
3 | sale as of the most recent calendar year end, reported in the NMLS Mortgage Call Report, and that |
4 | operates in two (2) or more states, districts, or territories of the United States either currently or as |
5 | of the prior calendar year end. |
6 | (4)(7) “Currency transmission” means engaging in the business of any of the following: |
7 | (i) Sale or issuance of payment instruments or stored value primarily for personal, family, |
8 | or household purposes; or |
9 | (ii) Receiving money or monetary value for transmission or holding funds incidental to |
10 | transmission within the United States or to locations abroad by any and all means, including |
11 | payment instrument, stored value, wire, facsimile, or electronic transfer, primarily for personal, |
12 | family, or household purposes. This includes maintaining control of virtual currency or transactions |
13 | in virtual currency on behalf of others. |
14 | (5)(8) “Deferred-deposit transaction” means any transaction, such as those commonly |
15 | known as “payday loans,” “payday advances,” or “deferred-presentment loans,” in which a cash |
16 | advance is made to a customer in exchange for the customer’s personal check or in exchange for |
17 | the customer’s authorization to debit the customer’s deposit account and where the parties agree |
18 | either that the check will not be cashed or deposited, or that the customer’s deposit account will not |
19 | be debited until a designated future date. |
20 | (6)(9) [Deleted by P.L. 2019, ch. 226, § 1 and P.L. 2019, ch. 246, § 1.] |
21 | (7)(10) “Deliver” means to deliver a check to the first person who, in payment for the |
22 | check, makes, or purports to make, a remittance of, or against, the face amount of the check, |
23 | whether or not the deliverer also charges a fee in addition to the face amount and whether or not |
24 | the deliverer signs the check. |
25 | (11) “External audit” means the formal report prepared by an independent certified public |
26 | accountant expressing an opinion on whether the financial statements are presented fairly, in all |
27 | material aspects, in accordance with the applicable financial reporting framework, and is inclusive |
28 | of an evaluation of the adequacy of an entity’s internal control structure. |
29 | (8)(12) “Insurance premium finance agreement” means an agreement by which an insured, |
30 | or prospective insured, promises to pay to an insurance premium finance company the amount |
31 | advanced, or to be advanced, under the agreement to an insurer or to an insurance producer, in |
32 | payment of a premium, or premiums, on an insurance contract, or contracts, together with interest |
33 | and a service charge, as authorized and limited by this title. |
34 | (9)(13) “Insurance premium finance company” means a person or entity engaged in the |
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1 | business of making insurance premium finance agreements or acquiring insurance premium finance |
2 | agreements from other insurance premium finance companies. |
3 | (14) “Internal audit” means the internal activity of performing independent, objective |
4 | assurance and consulting to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of entity operations, risk |
5 | management, internal controls, and governance processes. |
6 | (15) “Interim serviced prior to sale” means the activity of collecting a limited number of |
7 | contractual mortgage payments immediately after origination on loans held for sale, but prior to |
8 | the loans being sold on the secondary market. |
9 | (10)(16)(i) “Lender” means any person who makes or funds a loan within this state with |
10 | the person’s own funds, regardless of whether the person is the nominal mortgagee or creditor on |
11 | the instrument evidencing the loan; |
12 | (ii) A loan is made or funded within this state if any of the following conditions exist: |
13 | (A) The loan is secured by real property located in this state; |
14 | (B) An application for a loan is taken by an employee, agent, or representative of the lender |
15 | within this state; |
16 | (C) The loan closes within this state; |
17 | (D) A retail installment contract as defined herein is created; |
18 | (E) The loan solicitation is done by an individual with a physical presence in this state; or |
19 | (F) The lender maintains an office in this state; |
20 | (iii) The term “lender” shall also include any person engaged in a transaction whereby the |
21 | person makes or funds a loan within this state using the proceeds of an advance under a line of |
22 | credit over which proceeds the person has dominion and control and for the repayment of which |
23 | the person is unconditionally liable. This transaction is not a table-funding transaction. A person is |
24 | deemed to have dominion and control over the proceeds of an advance under a line of credit used |
25 | to fund a loan regardless of whether: |
26 | (A) The person may, contemporaneously with, or shortly following, the funding of the |
27 | loan, assign or deliver to the line of credit lender one or more loans funded by the proceeds of an |
28 | advance to the person under the line of credit; |
29 | (B) The proceeds of an advance are delivered directly to the settlement agent by the line- |
30 | of-credit lender, unless the settlement agent is the agent of the line-of-credit lender; |
31 | (C) One or more loans funded by the proceeds of an advance under the line of credit is |
32 | purchased by the line-of-credit lender; or |
33 | (D) Under the circumstances, as set forth in regulations adopted by the director, or the |
34 | director’s designee, pursuant to this chapter. |
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1 | (11)(17) “Licensee” means any person licensed under this chapter. |
2 | (12)(18) “Loan” means any advance of money or credit including, but not limited to: |
3 | (i) Loans secured by mortgages; |
4 | (ii) Insurance premium finance agreements; |
5 | (iii) The purchase or acquisition of retail installment contracts or advances to the holders |
6 | of those contracts; |
7 | (iv) Educational loans; |
8 | (v) Any other advance of money; or |
9 | (vi) Any transaction, such as those commonly known as “payday loans,” “payday |
10 | advances,” or “deferred-presentment loans,” in which a cash advance is made to a customer in |
11 | exchange for the customer’s personal check, or in exchange for the customer’s authorization to |
12 | debit the customer’s deposit account, and where the parties agree either, that the check will not be |
13 | cashed or deposited, or that the customer’s deposit account will not be debited, until a designated |
14 | future date. |
15 | (13)(19) “Loan broker” means any person or entity who or that, for compensation or gain, |
16 | or in the expectation of compensation or gain, either directly or indirectly, solicits, processes, |
17 | negotiates, places, or sells a loan within this state for others in the primary market, or offers to do |
18 | so. A loan broker shall also mean any person who is the nominal mortgagee or creditor in a table- |
19 | funding transaction. A loan is brokered within this state if any of the following conditions exist: |
20 | (i) The loan is secured by real property located in this state; |
21 | (ii) An application for a loan is taken or received by an employee, agent, or representative |
22 | of the loan broker within this state; |
23 | (iii) The loan closes within this state; |
24 | (iv) The loan solicitation is done by an individual with a physical presence in this state; or |
25 | (v) The loan broker maintains an office in this state. |
26 | (14)(20) “Loan-closing services” means providing title services, including title searches, |
27 | title examinations, abstract preparation, insurability determinations, and the issuance of title |
28 | commitments and title insurance policies, conducting loan closings, and preparation of loan-closing |
29 | documents when performed by, or under the supervision of, a licensed attorney, licensed title |
30 | agency, or licensed title insurance company. |
31 | (15)(21) “Loan solicitation” shall mean an effectuation, procurement, delivery and offer, |
32 | or advertisement of a loan. Loan solicitation also includes providing or accepting loan applications |
33 | and assisting persons in completing loan applications and/or advising, conferring, or informing |
34 | anyone regarding the benefits, terms and/or conditions of a loan product or service. Loan |
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1 | solicitation does not include loan processing or loan underwriting as defined in this section. Loan |
2 | solicitation does not include telemarketing that is defined, for purposes of this section, to mean |
3 | contacting a person by telephone with the intention of collecting such person’s name, address, and |
4 | telephone number for the sole purpose of allowing a mortgage loan originator to fulfill a loan |
5 | inquiry. |
6 | (16)(22) “Loan underwriting” shall mean a loan process that involves the analysis of risk |
7 | with respect to the decision whether to make a loan to a loan applicant based on credit, employment, |
8 | assets, and other factors, including evaluating a loan applicant against a lender’s various lending |
9 | criteria for creditworthiness, making a determination for the lender as to whether the applicant |
10 | meets the lender’s pre-established credit standards, and/or making a recommendation regarding |
11 | loan approval. |
12 | (17)(23) “Monetary value” means a medium of exchange, whether or not redeemable in |
13 | fiat currency. |
14 | (24) “Mortgage-backed security” or “MBS” means financial instruments, often debt |
15 | securities, collateralized by residential mortgages. |
16 | (25) “Mortgage call report” means the quarterly or annual report of residential real estate |
17 | loan origination, servicing, and financial information completed by entities licensed in the |
18 | Nationwide Multistate Licensing System. |
19 | (18)(26) “Mortgage loan” means a loan secured in whole, or in part, by real property |
20 | located in this state. |
21 | (19)(27) “Mortgage loan originator” has the same meaning set forth in § 19-14.10-3. |
22 | (28) “Mortgage servicing rights investor” or “MSR investor” means an entity that invests |
23 | in and owns mortgage servicing rights and relies on sub-servicers to administer the loans on their |
24 | behalf and often referred to as master servicer. |
25 | (20)(29) “Nationwide Multistate Licensing System” means a system involving more than |
26 | one state, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and that is established to |
27 | facilitate the sharing of regulatory information and the licensing, application, reporting, and |
28 | payment processes, by electronic or other means, for mortgage lenders and loan brokers and other |
29 | licensees required to be licensed under this chapter. |
30 | (21)(30) “Natural person employee” shall mean any natural person performing services as |
31 | a bona fide employee for a person or entity licensed under § 19-14-1 et seq., in return for a salary, |
32 | wage, or other consideration, where such salary, wage, or consideration is reported by the licensee |
33 | on a federal form W-2 payroll record. The term does not include any natural person or business |
34 | entity performing services for a person licensed under the provisions of Rhode Island general laws |
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1 | in return for a salary, wage, or other consideration, where such salary, wage, or consideration is |
2 | reported by the licensee on a federal form 1099. |
3 | (22)(31) “Negative equity” means the difference between the value of an asset and the |
4 | outstanding portion of the loan taken out to pay for the asset, when the latter exceeds the former |
5 | amount. |
6 | (23)(32) “Negotiates” shall mean, with respect to a loan, to confer directly with, or offer |
7 | advice directly to, a loan applicant or prospective loan applicant for a loan product or service |
8 | concerning any of the substantive benefits, terms, or conditions of the loan product or service. |
9 | (24)(33) “Nonprofit organization” means a corporation qualifying as a 26 U.S.C. § |
10 | 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, in the operation of which no member, director, officer, partner, |
11 | employee, agent, or other affiliated person profits financially other than receiving reasonable |
12 | salaries if applicable. |
13 | (34) “Operating liquidity” means the funds necessary to perform normal business |
14 | operations, such as payment of rent, salaries, interest expenses, and other typical expenses |
15 | associated with operating the entity. |
16 | (25)(35) “Operating subsidiary” shall mean a majority-owned subsidiary of a financial |
17 | institution or banking institution that engages only in activities permitted by the parent financial |
18 | institution or banking institution. |
19 | (26)(36) “Oversight and supervision of the licensee” shall mean that the licensee provides |
20 | training to the employee, sets the employee’s hours of work, provides the employee with the |
21 | equipment required to perform the employee’s duties, and supervises the services provided by the |
22 | employee to the licensee. |
23 | (27)(37) “Personal money order” means any instrument for the transmission or payment of |
24 | money in relation to which the purchaser or remitter appoints, or purports to appoint, the seller as |
25 | his or her agent for the receipt, transmission, or handling of money, whether the instrument is signed |
26 | by the seller, or by the purchaser, or remitter, or some other person. |
27 | (28)(38) “Primary market” means the market in which loans are made to borrowers by |
28 | lenders, whether or not through a loan broker or other conduit. |
29 | (29)(39) “Principal owner” means any person or entity who or that owns, controls, votes, |
30 | or has a beneficial interest in, directly or indirectly, ten percent (10%) or more of the outstanding |
31 | capital stock and/or equity interest of a licensee. |
32 | (30)(40) “Processes” shall mean, with respect to a loan, any of a series of acts or functions, |
33 | including the preparation of a loan application and supporting documents, performed by a person |
34 | that leads to, or results in, the acceptance, approval, denial, and/or withdrawal of a loan application, |
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1 | including, without limitation, the rendering of services, including loan underwriting, obtaining |
2 | verifications, credit reports or appraisals, communicating with the applicant and/or the lender or |
3 | loan broker, and/or other loan processing and origination services, for consideration by a lender or |
4 | loan broker. Loan processing does not include the following: |
5 | (i) Providing loan closing services; |
6 | (ii) Rendering of credit reports by an authorized credit reporting agency; and |
7 | (iii) Rendering of appraisal services. |
8 | (31)(41) “Provisional employee” means a natural person who, pursuant to a written |
9 | agreement between the natural person and a wholly owned subsidiary of a financial holding |
10 | company, as defined in the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 (12 U.S.C. § 1841 et seq.), as |
11 | amended, a bank-holding company, savings-bank-holding company, or thrift-holding company, is |
12 | an exclusive agent for the subsidiary with respect to mortgage loan originations and the subsidiary: |
13 | (a) Holds a valid loan broker’s license; and (b) Enters into a written agreement with the director, |
14 | or the director’s designee, to include: |
15 | (i) An “undertaking of accountability,” in a form prescribed by the director, or the director’s |
16 | designee, for all of the subsidiary’s exclusive agents to include full-and-direct financial and |
17 | regulatory responsibility for the mortgage loan originator activities of each exclusive agent as if |
18 | said exclusive agent were an employee of the subsidiary; |
19 | (ii) A business plan, to be approved by the director, or the director’s designee, for the |
20 | education of the exclusive agents, the handling of consumer complaints related to the exclusive |
21 | agents, and the supervision of the mortgage loan origination activities of the exclusive agents; and |
22 | (iii) A restriction of the exclusive agents’ mortgage loan originators’ activities to loans to |
23 | be made only by the subsidiary’s affiliated bank. |
24 | (32)(42) “Remote location” means a location meeting the requirements of § 19-14-25(b) at |
25 | which an employee of a licensee may provide services for the licensee notwithstanding that the |
26 | location differs from the place of business named in the license or a branch certificate issued to the |
27 | licensee. |
28 | (33)(43) “Retail installment contract” means any security agreement negotiated or |
29 | executed in this state, or under the laws of this state, including, but not limited to, any agreement |
30 | in the nature of a mortgage, conditional sale contract, or any other agreement whether or not |
31 | evidenced by any written instrument to pay the retail purchase price of goods, or any part thereof, |
32 | in installments over any period of time and pursuant to which any security interest is retained or |
33 | taken by the retail seller for the payment of the purchase price, or any part thereof, of the retail |
34 | installment contract. |
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1 | (44) “Risk management program” means the policies and procedures designed to identify, |
2 | measure, monitor, and mitigate risk sufficient for the level of sophistication of the servicer. |
3 | (34)(45) “Sell” means to sell, to issue, or to deliver a check. |
4 | (35)(46) “Servicing” means receiving a scheduled, periodic payment from a borrower, |
5 | pursuant to the terms of a loan, including amounts for escrow accounts, and making the payments |
6 | to the owner of the loan or other third party of principal and interest and other payments with respect |
7 | to the amounts received from the borrower as may be required pursuant to the terms of the servicing |
8 | loan documents or servicing contract. In the case of a home equity conversion mortgage or a reverse |
9 | mortgage, servicing includes making payment to the borrower. |
10 | (47) “Servicing liquidity” or “liquidity” means the financial resources necessary to manage |
11 | liquidity risk arising from servicing functions required in acquiring and financing mortgage |
12 | servicing rights, hedging costs, including margin calls, associated with the mortgage servicing right |
13 | assets and financing facilities, and advances or costs of advance financing for principal, interest, |
14 | taxes, insurance and any other servicing related advances. |
15 | (36)(48) “Simple interest” means interest computed on the principal balance outstanding |
16 | immediately prior to a payment for one plus the actual number of days between payments made on |
17 | a loan over the life of a loan. |
18 | (37)(49) “Small loan” means a loan of less than five thousand dollars ($5,000), not secured |
19 | by real estate, made pursuant to the provisions of chapter 14.2 of this title. |
20 | (38)(50) “Small-loan lender” means a lender engaged in the business of making small loans |
21 | within this state. |
22 | (39)(51) “Stored value” means monetary value representing a claim against the issuer that |
23 | is stored on an electronic or digital medium and is evidenced by an electronic or digital record, and |
24 | that is intended and accepted for use as a means of redemption for money or monetary value or |
25 | payment for goods or services. The term does not include stored value that is redeemable by the |
26 | issuer exclusively in goods or services; stored value that is redeemable exclusively in goods or |
27 | services limited to transactions involving a defined merchant or location or set of locations, such |
28 | as a specific retailer or retail chain, college campus, or program points, miles, or other units issued |
29 | in connection with a customer affinity or rewards program, even if there is a secondary market for |
30 | the stored value. |
31 | (52) “Sub-servicer” means the entity performing the routine administration of residential |
32 | mortgage loans as agent of a servicer or mortgage servicing rights investor under the terms of a |
33 | subservicing contract. |
34 | (53) “Sub-servicing for others” means the contractual activities performed by sub-servicers |
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1 | on behalf of a servicer or mortgage servicing rights investor. |
2 | (40)(54) “Table-funding transaction” means a transaction in which there is a |
3 | contemporaneous advance of funds by a lender and an assignment by the mortgagee or creditor of |
4 | the loan to the lender. |
5 | (41)(55) “Tangible net worth” means the aggregate assets of a licensee excluding all |
6 | intangible assets, less liabilities, as determined in accordance with United States generally accepted |
7 | accounting principles. |
8 | (42)(56) “Third-party loan servicer” means a person or entity who or that, directly or |
9 | indirectly, engages in the business of servicing a loan secured by residential real estate located in |
10 | Rhode Island, for a personal, family, or household purpose, owed or due, or asserted to be owed or |
11 | due, another, or a person or entity that owns the servicing rights to a loan secured by residential |
12 | real estate located in Rhode Island whether or not that owner services the loan themselves or |
13 | contracts with another person or entity for the servicing. |
14 | (43)(57) “Virtual currency”: |
15 | (i) Means a digital representation of value that: |
16 | (A) Is used as a medium of exchange, unit of account, or store of value; and |
17 | (B) Is not legal tender, whether or not denominated in legal tender; and |
18 | (ii) Does not include: |
19 | (A) A transaction in which a merchant grants, as part of an affinity or rewards program, |
20 | value that cannot be taken from or exchanged with the merchant for legal tender, bank credit, or |
21 | virtual currency; |
22 | (B) A digital representation of value issued by or on behalf of a publisher and used solely |
23 | within an online game, game platform, or family of games sold by the same publisher or offered |
24 | on the same game platform; |
25 | (C) Native digital token used in a proprietary blockchain service platform; or |
26 | (D) A gift certificate; store gift card; general-use prepaid card; or loyalty, award, or |
27 | promotional gift card, as these terms are defined in federal Regulation E, 12 C.F.R. § 1005.20(a), |
28 | without giving effect to any exception as specified in 31 C.F.R. § 1010.100(kkk) or any card, code |
29 | or device, or other device that can add funds to those products. |
30 | (58) “Whole loans” mean those loans where a mortgage and the underlying credit risk is |
31 | owned and held on a balance sheet of the entity with all ownership rights. |
32 | (44)(59) “Writing” means hard-copy writing or electronic writing that meets the |
33 | requirements of § 42-127.1-2(7). |
34 | SECTION 2. Chapter 19-14.11 of the General Laws entitled "Third-Party Loan Servicers" |
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1 | is hereby amended by adding thereto the following sections: |
2 | 19-14.11-5. Financial Condition. |
3 | (a) A covered mortgage servicer must maintain capital and liquidity in compliance with |
4 | this section. |
5 | (b) For the purposes of complying with the capital and liquidity requirements of this |
6 | section, all financial data must be determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting |
7 | principles (“GAAP”). |
8 | (c) A covered mortgage servicer that meets the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s |
9 | Eligibility Requirements for Enterpriser Single Family Seller/Servicers for capital, net worth ratio, |
10 | and liquidity, regardless of whether the servicer is approved for government sponsored enterprise |
11 | servicing by the Federal National Mortgage Association (“Fannie Mae”) or the Federal Home Loan |
12 | Mortgage Corporation (“Freddie Mac”) meets the requirements of subsections (a) and (b) of this |
13 | section. |
14 | (1) Covered mortgage servicers shall maintain written policies and procedures |
15 | implementing the capital and servicing liquidity requirements of the section. |
16 | (2) Such policies and procedures must include a sustainable written methodology for |
17 | satisfying the requirements of subsection (c) of this section and be available to the director, or the |
18 | director’s designee, upon request. |
19 | (d) Covered mortgage servicers shall maintain sufficient allowable assets for liquidity in |
20 | addition to the amounts required for servicing liquidity, to cover normal business operations. |
21 | (1) Covered mortgage servicers shall have in place sound cash management and business |
22 | operating plans that match the size and sophistication of the institution to ensure normal business |
23 | operation. |
24 | (2) Management must develop, establish and implement plans, policies and procedures for |
25 | maintaining operating liquidity sufficient for the ongoing needs of the institution. |
26 | (3) Such plans, policies and procedures must contain sustainable, written methodologies |
27 | for maintaining sufficient operating liquidity and be available to the director, or the director’s |
28 | designee, upon request. |
29 | 19-14.11-6. Corporate governance. |
30 | (a) Covered mortgage servicers shall establish and maintain a board of directors |
31 | responsible for oversight of the covered mortgage servicer. |
32 | (b) For covered mortgage servicers that are not approved to service loans by a government |
33 | sponsored enterprise, Federal National Mortgage Association (“Fannie Mae”) and Federal Home |
34 | Loan Mortgage Corporation (“Freddie Mac”) or government National Mortgage Association |
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1 | (“Ginnie Mae”) or where these federal agencies have granted approval for a board alternative, a |
2 | covered institution may establish a similar body constituted to exercise oversight and fulfill the |
3 | board of directors’ responsibilities in subsection (c) of this section. |
4 | (c) The board of directors shall be responsible for: |
5 | (1) Establishing a written corporate governance framework, including appropriate internal |
6 | controls designed to monitor corporate governance and assess compliance with the corporate |
7 | governance framework, available to the director, or the director’s designee, upon request; |
8 | (2) Monitoring and ensuring institution compliance with the corporate governance |
9 | framework and Rhode Island general laws; and |
10 | (3) Accurate and timely regulatory reporting, including the requirements for filing the |
11 | Nationwide Multistate Licensing System’s (“NMLS”) Mortgage Call Report. |
12 | (d) The board of directors shall establish internal audit requirements that are appropriate |
13 | for the size, complexity, and risk profile of the servicer, with the appropriate independence to |
14 | provide a reliable evaluation of the servicer’s internal control structure, risk management and |
15 | governance. Board established internal audit requirements, and the results of internal audits shall |
16 | be made available to the director, or the director’s designee, upon request. |
17 | (e) Covered mortgage servicers shall receive an external audit, including audited financial |
18 | statements and audit reports conducted by an independent public accountant annually. The external |
19 | audit shall be available to the director, or the director’s designee, upon request and shall include at |
20 | a minimum: |
21 | (1) Annual financial statements including a balance sheet, statement of operations or |
22 | income statement and cash flows, including notes and supplemental schedules prepared in |
23 | accordance to generally accepted accounting principles; |
24 | (2) Assessment of the internal control structure; |
25 | (3) Computation of tangible net worth; |
26 | (4) Validation of the mortgage servicing rights valuation and reserve methodology, if |
27 | applicable; |
28 | (5) Verification of adequate fidelity and errors and omissions insurance; and |
29 | (6) Testing of controls related to risk management activities, including compliance and |
30 | stress testing, where applicable. |
31 | (f) Covered mortgage servicers shall establish a risk management program under the |
32 | oversight of the board of directors and available to the director, or the director’s designee, upon |
33 | request that identifies, measures, monitors, and controls risk sufficient for the level of sophistication |
34 | of the servicer. The risk management program must have appropriate processes and models in place |
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1 | to measure, monitor and mitigate financial risks and changes to the risk profile of the servicer and |
2 | assets being serviced. The risk management program must be scaled to the complexity of the |
3 | organization, but be sufficiently robust to manage risks in several areas including, but not limited |
4 | to: |
5 | (1) Credit risk. The potential that a borrower or counterparty will fail to perform on an |
6 | obligation. |
7 | (2) Liquidity risk. The potential that the servicer will be unable to meet its obligations as |
8 | they come due because of an inability to liquidate assets or obtain adequate funding or that it cannot |
9 | easily unwind or offset specific exposures. |
10 | (3) Operational risk. The risk resulting from inadequate or failed internal processes, people, |
11 | and systems or from external events. |
12 | (4) Market risk. The risk to the servicer’s condition resulting from adverse movements in |
13 | market rates or prices. |
14 | (5) Legal risk. The potential that actions against the servicer that result in unenforceable |
15 | contracts, lawsuits, legal sanctions or adverse judgements can disrupt or otherwise negatively affect |
16 | the operations or condition of the servicer. |
17 | (6) Reputation risk. The risk to earnings and capital arising from negative publicity |
18 | regarding the servicer’s business practices. |
19 | (g) Covered mortgage servicers shall conduct a risk management assessment on an annual |
20 | basis concluding with a formal report to the board of directors and made available to the director, |
21 | or the director’s designee, upon request. Evidence of risk management activities throughout the |
22 | year must be maintained and made part of the report, including findings of issues and the response |
23 | to address those findings. |
24 | 19-14.11-7. Applicability and exclusions. |
25 | (a) Sections 19-14.11-5 and 19-14.11-6 shall apply to covered mortgage servicers defined |
26 | in § 19-14-1. For entities within a holding company or affiliated group of companies’, applicability |
27 | shall be at the covered mortgage servicer level. |
28 | (b) The following exclusions shall apply: |
29 | (1) Section 19-14.11-5 shall not apply to not-for-profit servicers or housing finance |
30 | agencies. |
31 | (2) Section 19-14.11-5 shall not apply to servicers solely owning and or conducting reverse |
32 | mortgage servicing or the reverse mortgage portfolio administered by covered institutions. |
33 | 19-14.11-8. Authority. |
34 | (a) The director, or the director’s designee, may adopt rules necessary for the |
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1 | implementation and administration of the provisions of this chapter. |
2 | (b) The director, or director’s designee, may: |
3 | (1) Where risk is determined by a formal review of a specific covered mortgage servicer to |
4 | be extremely high, order or direct the covered mortgage servicer to satisfy additional conditions |
5 | necessary to ensure that the covered mortgage servicer will continue to operate in a safe and sound |
6 | manner and be able to continue to service loans in compliance with state and federal law and |
7 | regulation. |
8 | (2) Where risk is determined by a formal review of a specific covered mortgage servicer to |
9 | be extremely low, provide notice that all or part of §§ 19-14.11-5 and 19-14.11-6 is not applicable |
10 | to those covered mortgage servicers. |
11 | (3) Where economic, environmental, or societal events are determined to be of such |
12 | severity to warrant a temporary suspension of all or part of §§ 19-14.11-5 and 19-14.11-6, provide |
13 | public notice of such temporary suspension. |
14 | SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
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EXPLANATION | |
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL | |
OF | |
A N A C T | |
RELATING TO FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS -- LICENSED ACTIVITIES | |
*** | |
1 | This act would establish requirements for capital, liquidity, and corporate governance |
2 | including audit, risk management, and board oversight, for nonbank mortgage servicers. |
3 | This act would take effect upon passage. |
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