The Florida Senate

Each person who acts as a correspondent mortgage lender must be licensed under this section unless otherwise exempt from licensure.

Each initial application for a correspondent mortgage lender’s license must be in the form prescribed by rule of the commission. The office may require each applicant to provide any information reasonably necessary to determine the applicant’s eligibility for licensure. The office shall issue an initial correspondent mortgage lender license to any person who submits:

Notwithstanding subsection (2), it is a ground for denial of licensure if the applicant; any designated principal representative; any principal officer, director, control person, member, partner, or joint venturer of the applicant; or any natural person who is the ultimate equitable owner of a 10-percent or greater interest in the applicant has committed any violation specified in s. 494.0072, or has pending against her or him any criminal prosecution or administrative enforcement action, in any jurisdiction, which involves fraud, dishonest dealing, or any act of moral turpitude.

Each license is valid for the remainder of the biennium in which the license is issued.

A person licensed as a correspondent mortgage lender may make mortgage loans, but may not service a mortgage loan for more than 4 months after the date the mortgage loan was made or acquired by the correspondent mortgage lender.

A licensee under ss. 494.006-494.0077, or an agent or employee thereof, is deemed to have consented to the venue of courts of competent jurisdiction in this state regarding any matter within the authority of ss. 494.001-494.0077 regardless of where an act or violation was committed.

A correspondent mortgage lender is subject to the same requirements and restrictions as a licensed mortgage lender unless otherwise provided in this section.

A license issued under this section is not transferable or assignable.

A correspondent mortgage lender or branch office license may be canceled if it was issued through mistake or inadvertence of the office. A notice of cancellation must be issued by the office within 90 days after the issuance of the license. A notice of cancellation shall be effective upon receipt. The notice of cancellation shall provide the applicant with notification of the right to request a hearing within 21 days after the applicant’s receipt of the notice of cancellation. A license shall be reinstated if the applicant can demonstrate that the requirements for obtaining the license pursuant to this chapter have been satisfied.

Each correspondent lender shall designate a principal representative who exercises control over the business and shall maintain a form prescribed by the commission designating the principal representative. If the form is not accurately maintained, the business is considered to be operated by each officer, director, or equitable owner of a 10-percent or greater interest in the business.

An applicant’s principal representative must pass a written test prescribed by the commission and administered by the office, or must pass an electronic test prescribed by the commission and administered by the office or a third party approved by the office, which covers primary and subordinate mortgage financing transactions and the provisions of this chapter and rules adopted under this chapter. The commission may waive by rule the examination requirement for any person who has passed a test approved by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators, or the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development if the test covers primary and subordinate mortgage financing transactions. The commission may set by rule a fee not to exceed $100 for taking the examination. This requirement is satisfied if the principal representative has continuously served in the capacity of a principal representative for a licensed entity under this chapter for at least 1 year and has not had a lapse in designation as a principal representative of more than 2 years before the date of the submission of the application or amendment in the case of a change in the principal representative. This requirement is also satisfied if the principal representative holds an active license as a mortgage broker in this state.

A correspondent lender shall notify the office of any change in the designation of its principal representative within 30 days after the change is effective. A new principal representative shall satisfy the educational and testing requirements of this section within 90 days after being designated as the new principal representative. This requirement is satisfied if the principal representative has continuously served in the capacity of a principal representative for a licensed entity under this chapter for at least 1 year and has not had a lapse in designation as a principal representative of more than 2 years before the date of the submission of the application or amendment in the case of a change in the principal representative. This requirement is also satisfied if the principal representative holds an active license as a mortgage broker in this state.