HF 211

Subdivision 1.

Generally.

No person acting as a residential mortgage originator
or servicer, including a person required to be licensed under this chapter, and no person
exempt from the licensing requirements of this chapter under section 58.04, shall:

(1) fail to maintain a trust account to hold trust funds received in connection with a
residential mortgage loan;

(2) fail to deposit all trust funds into a trust account within three business days of
receipt; commingle trust funds with funds belonging to the licensee or exempt person; or
use trust account funds for any purpose other than that for which they are received;

(3) unreasonably delay the processing of a residential mortgage loan application,
or the closing of a residential mortgage loan. For purposes of this clause, evidence of
unreasonable delay includes but is not limited to those factors identified in section 47.206,
subdivision 7, clause (d);

(4) fail to disburse funds according to its contractual or statutory obligations;

(5) fail to perform in conformance with its written agreements with borrowers,
investors, other licensees, or exempt persons;

(6) charge a fee for a product or service where the product or service is not actually
provided, or misrepresent the amount charged by or paid to a third party for a product
or service;

(7) fail to comply with sections 345.31 to 345.60, the Minnesota unclaimed property
law;

(8) violate any provision of any other applicable state or federal law regulating
residential mortgage loans including, without limitation, sections 47.20 to 47.208;

(9) make or cause to be made, directly or indirectly, any false, deceptive, or
misleading statement or representation in connection with a residential loan transaction
including, without limitation, a false, deceptive, or misleading statement or representation
regarding the borrower's ability to qualify for any mortgage product;

(10) conduct residential mortgage loan business under any name other than that
under which the license or certificate of exemption was issued;

(11) compensate, whether directly or indirectly, coerce or intimidate an appraiser for
the purpose of influencing the independent judgment of the appraiser with respect to the
value of real estate that is to be covered by a residential mortgage or is being offered as
security according to an application for a residential mortgage loan;

(12) issue any document indicating conditional qualification or conditional approval
for a residential mortgage loan, unless the document also clearly indicates that final
qualification or approval is not guaranteed, and may be subject to additional review;

(13) make or assist in making any residential mortgage loan with the intent that the
loan will not be repaid and that the residential mortgage originator will obtain title to
the property through foreclosure;

(14) provide or offer to provide for a borrower, any brokering or lending services
under an arrangement with a person other than a licensee or exempt person, provided that
a person may rely upon a written representation by the residential mortgage originator that
it is in compliance with the licensing requirements of this chapter;

(15) claim to represent a licensee or exempt person, unless the person is an employee
of the licensee or exempt person or unless the person has entered into a written agency
agreement with the licensee or exempt person;

(16) fail to comply with the record keeping and notification requirements identified
in section 58.14 or fail to abide by the affirmations made on the application for licensure;

(17) represent that the licensee or exempt person is acting as the borrower's agent
after providing the nonagency disclosure required by section 58.15, unless the disclosure
is retracted and the licensee or exempt person complies with all of the requirements of
section 58.16;

(18) make, provide, or arrange for a residential mortgage loan that is of a lower
investment grade if the borrower's credit score or, if the originator does not utilize credit
scoring or if a credit score is unavailable, then comparable underwriting data, indicates
that the borrower may qualify for a residential mortgage loan, available from or through
the originator, that is of a higher investment grade, unless the borrower is informed that
the borrower may qualify for a higher investment grade loan with a lower interest rate
and/or lower discount points, and consents in writing to receipt of the lower investment
grade loan.

For purposes of this section, "investment grade" refers to a system of categorizing
residential mortgage loans in which the loans are: (i) commonly referred to as "prime" or
"subprime"; (ii) commonly designated by an alphabetical character with "A" being the
highest investment grade; and (iii) are distinguished by interest rate or discount points
or both charged to the borrower, which vary according to the degree of perceived risk
of default based on factors such as the borrower's credit, including credit score and
credit patterns, income and employment history, debt ratio, loan-to-value ratio, and prior
bankruptcy or foreclosure;

(19) make, publish, disseminate, circulate, place before the public, or cause to be
made, directly or indirectly, any advertisement or marketing materials of any type, or any
statement or representation relating to the business of residential mortgage loans that is
false, deceptive, or misleading;

(20) advertise loan types or terms that are not available from or through the licensee
or exempt person on the date advertised, or on the date specified in the advertisement.
For purposes of this clause, advertisement includes, but is not limited to, a list of sample
mortgage terms, including interest rates, discount points, and closing costs provided by
licensees or exempt persons to a print or electronic medium that presents the information
to the public;

(21) use or employ phrases, pictures, return addresses, geographic designations, or
other means that create the impression, directly or indirectly, that a licensee or other
person is a governmental agency, or is associated with, sponsored by, or in any manner
connected to, related to, or endorsed by a governmental agency, if that is not the case; deleted text begin or
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(22) violate section 82.49, relating to table fundingdeleted text begin .deleted text end new text begin ; or
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new text begin (23) sell to or exchange with third parties personal information contained in an
application for a mortgage loan, including the fact that the applicant applied for the
mortgage loan.
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