Both South Carolina Regulators to Implement Changes to their Mortgage Lender/Broker Laws Effective September 16, 2017
South Carolina’s Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) and Board of Financial Institutions (BFI) announced changes made during the 2017 legislative session designed to reduce regulatory burdens. South Carolina Senate Bill 366 amends both the Mortgage Lending Act and the Mortgage Broker Act. Changes include:
- Adoption of the Uniform State Test. Mortgage Loan Originator license applicants will take the Uniform State Test (UST) and will no longer take a South Carolina specific test as a part of the licensing process. Three hours of South Carolina specific training will be required for pre-licensing education (PE).
- Elimination of State Criminal Background Check. Since the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System & Registry (NMLS) already administers national background checks for mortgage companies and individuals, requirements for a state criminal background check for license applicants has been removed. South Carolina background check data is reported to the national system within 24 hours of processing.
- Continuing Education Requirements. The change specifies that at least one hour of the eight hours of required Continuing Education (CE) must be on South Carolina specific laws. Current licensees will have until license renewal in November of 2018 to satisfy this requirement.
- Additional changes include:
- Residence as licensed location. Clarifies when a residence may be licensed as a branch location.
- Broker brick and mortar removal. Deletes the requirement for a mortgage broker to have a physical location in SC.
- Dual license clarification. Adds parameters to determine when a mortgage lender would not need to obtain a mortgage broker license when engaging in both activities.
