Vermont Enacts Amendments Modifying Licensing Requirements

The General Assembly of Vermont recently enacted Act No. 25 (S.88), which, among other things, amends certain licensing requirements for lenders, mortgage brokers, loan solicitation, and loan servicers, effective immediately.

The bill eliminates the combination license, recently made available, for lenders, mortgage brokers, loan solicitation, and loan servicers.  Instead, as before, the licenses must now be applied for individually.  In addition, the bill allows mortgage loan originators and employees of other nonbank licensees to work remotely from home (i.e., through a licensed location without being physically present at that location) without obtaining a branch license for their residence, provided that certain other requirements are met, thereby codifying activities that the state has allowed during the recent state of emergency.  According to the Vermont Office of Legislative Counsel’s summary of the bill, the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation intends to adopt rules requiring certain safeguards for remote work.  The amendments also generally increase the penalty for nonbank licensees’ failure to submit annual reports from $100 to $1,000 for each month the report is past due.

The bill also amends various other provisions, including certain provisions regarding insurance and securities related activities.  The amendments have different effective dates, ranging from May 12, 2021, through January 1, 2022.