Vermont Amends Provisions Regarding Mortgage Licensing Requirements

Vermont Governor Phil Scott recently signed into law a bill, Senate Bill 154, (S 154), which amends the state’s mortgage licensing statute.  S 154 is intended to streamline the law by consolidating certain redundant common provisions impacting licensed mortgage lenders, servicers, mortgage loan originators, consumer litigation funding companies, money services, and debt adjusters into a new chapter that applies to all licensees.

Some of the other key revisions under S 154 include the following:

• The Commissioner of Financial Regulation (Commissioner) is authorized to issue “advisory opinions, non-objection letters, and no action letters.”
• Loan solicitation companies will be examined by the Commissioner “as often as the Commissioner deems necessary to carry out the purposes of this part.”
• The Commissioner may deem a license application abandoned or withdrawn if it is incomplete and the applicant has not corresponded with the Commissioner for 90 days.

The bill is effective July 1, 2019.