(a) Application Form. Applicants for a license shall apply in a form as prescribed by the Banking Board or its designated agent. Each such form must contain content as set forth by rule, regulation, instruction or procedure of the Banking Board or its designated agent and may be changed or updated as necessary by the Banking Board or its designated agent in order to carry out the purposes of this subchapter.
(b) Background Checks. In connection with an application for licensing as a mortgage loan originator, the applicant shall, at a minimum, furnish to the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry information concerning the applicant's identity, including—
(1) Fingerprints for submission to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and any governmental agency or entity authorized to receive such information for a state, national and international criminal history background check; and
(2) Personal history and experience in a form prescribed by the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry, including the submission of authorization for the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry and the Banking Board or its designated agent—
(A) An independent credit report obtained from a consumer reporting agency described in section 603(p) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act; and
(B) Information related to any administrative, civil or criminal findings by any governmental jurisdiction.
(3) Agent. For the purposes of this subsection and in order to reduce the points of contact which the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other entities may have to maintain for purposes of subsection (b)(1) and (b)(2) of this section, the Banking Board or its designated agent may use the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry as a channeling agent for requesting information from and distributing information to the Department of Justice or any governmental agency and from any other source so directed by the Banking Board or its designated agent.
(c) Issuance of License. The Banking Board may not issue a mortgage loan originator license unless the Banking Board or its designated agent finds that the individual meets the minimum standards for licensing and registration as a State-licensed mortgage loan originator:
(1) No License Revocation. The applicant has never had a mortgage loan originator license revoked in any governmental jurisdiction, except that a subsequent formal vacation of such revocation shall not be deemed a revocation.
(2) No Felony Conviction. The applicant has not been convicted of, or pled guilty or nolo contendere to a felony in a domestic, foreign, or military court—
(A) During the seven-year period preceding the date of the application for licensing and registration; or
(B) At any time preceding such date of application, if such felony involved an act of fraud, dishonesty, or a breach of trust, or money laundering;
(C) Provided that any pardon of a conviction shall not be a conviction for purposes of this subsection.
(3)
(A) Character and Fitness. The applicant has demonstrated financial responsibility, character, and general fitness such as to command the confidence of the community and to warrant a determination that the mortgage loan originator will operate honestly, fairly, and efficiently within the purposes of this subchapter.
(B) For purposes of this subsection an individual has shown that he is not financially responsible when he has shown a disregard in the management of his own financial condition. A determination that an individual has not shown financial responsibility may include, but not be limited to:
(i) Current outstanding judgments, except judgments solely as a result of medical expenses;
(ii) Current outstanding tax liens or other government liens and filings;
(iii) Foreclosures within the past three years;
(iv) A pattern of seriously delinquent accounts within the past three years.
(4) Pre-Licensing Education. The applicant has completed the pre-licensing education requirement.
(A) Minimum Educational Requirements. In order to meet the pre-licensing education requirement, a person shall complete at least 20 hours of education approved in accordance with subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, which must include at least—
(i) 3 hours of Federal law and regulations;
(ii) 3 hours of ethics, which shall include instruction on fraud, consumer protection, and fair lending issues; and
(iii) 2 hours of training related to lending standards for the nontraditional mortgage product marketplace.
(B) Approved Educational Courses, Limitations And Standards. For purposes of subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, pre-licensing education courses shall be reviewed, and approved by the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry based upon reasonable standards. Review and approval of a pre-licensing education course shall include review and approval of the course provider.
(a) To maintain the independence of the approval process, the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry may not directly or indirectly offer pre-licensure educational courses for loan originators.
(b) In approving courses under this section, the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and registry shall apply reasonable standards in the review and approval of courses.
(C) Approval of Employer and Affiliate Educational Courses. Nothing in this section precludes any pre-licensing education course, as approved by the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry that is provided by the employer of the applicant or an entity that is affiliated with the applicant by an agency contract, or any subsidiary or affiliate of such employer or entity.
(D) Venue of Education. Pre-licensing education may be offered either in a classroom, online or by any other means approved by the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry.
(E) Reciprocity of Education. The pre-licensing education requirements approved by the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry in paragraphs (4)(A)(i), (ii) and (iii) of this subsection for any state may be accepted as credit towards completion of pre-licensing education requirements in the Virgin Islands.
(F) Re-Licensing Education Requirements. A person previously licensed under this subchapter subsequent to the effective date of this subchapter applying to be licensed again must prove that they have completed all of the continuing education requirements for the year in which the license was last held.
(5) Written Test. The applicant has passed a written test that meets the test requirement described in this subchapter.
(A) In order to meet the written test requirement referred to in this subsection an individual shall pass, in accordance with the standards established under this subsection, a qualified written test developed by the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry and administered by a test provider approved by the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry based upon reasonable standards.
(B) Qualified Test. A written test may not be treated as a qualified written test for purposes of subparagraph (A), unless the test adequately measures the applicant's knowledge and comprehension in appropriate subject areas, including—
(i) Ethics;
(ii) Federal law and regulation pertaining to mortgage origination;
(iii) State law and regulation pertaining to mortgage origination;
(iv) Federal and State law and regulation, including instruction on fraud, consumer protection, the nontraditional mortgage marketplace, and fair lending issues.
(C) Testing Location. Nothing in this section prohibits a test provider approved by the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry from providing a test at the location of the employer of the applicant or the location of any subsidiary or affiliate of the employer of the applicant, or the location of any entity with which the applicant holds an exclusive arrangement to conduct the business of a mortgage loan originator.
(D) Minimum Competence.
(i) Passing Score. An individual is considered to have passed a qualified written test unless the individual achieves a test score of not less than 75 percent correct answers to questions.
(ii) Initial Retests. An individual may retake a test 3 consecutive times with each consecutive taking occurring at least 30 days after the preceding test.
(iii) Subsequent Retests. After failing 3 consecutive tests, an individual shall wait at least 6 months before taking the test again.
(iv) Retest After Lapse of License. A licensed mortgage loan originator who fails to maintain a valid license for a period of 5 years or longer shall retake the test, not taking into account any time during which such individual is a registered mortgage loan originator.
(6) Surety Bond and Net Worth. The applicant has met the surety bond and net worth requirement as required pursuant to subchapter.
(A) Surety Bond Required.
(i) Coverage, Form and Regulations. Each mortgage loan originator must be covered by a surety bond in accordance with this section. An applicant for an original license or for the renewal of a license shall file a surety bond with each original application and any renewal application for the license. The surety bond must:
(a) run to the Government of the Virgin Islands for the benefit of any person who has been damaged by a licensee as a result of violating any law or regulation governing the activities of mortgage loan originators;
(b) be issued by a surety company authorized to do business in the Virgin Islands;
(c) provide coverage for each mortgage loan originator in an amount as prescribed in subparagraph (A)(ii) of this paragraph;
(d) be in a form as prescribed by the Banking Board or its designated agent;
(e) be conditioned upon the applicant's complying with all of the Virgin Islands laws regulating the activities of mortgage loan originators, performing all written agreements with borrowers or prospective borrowers and accounting for all funds received by the licensee in conformity with the consistently applied standard system of accounting; and
(f) be continuously maintained thereafter for as long any license issued under this chapter remains in force.
(ii) Penal Sum of Surety Bond.
(a) If an applicant has not conducted business as a mortgage loan originator in the Virgin Islands in any of the three calendar years preceding the year in which an original application for a license is filed, the surety bond required under this subsection is $25,000.
(b) If an applicant has conducted business as a mortgage loan originator in the Virgin Islands in any of the three calendar years preceding the year in which an original or renewal application is filed, the applicant shall provide a sworn statement setting forth the total dollar amount of mortgage loans applied for and accepted or mortgage loans applied for, procured, and accepted by the mortgage loan originator during the latest calendar year such business was conducted. The bond required in this circumstance is determined as follows:
(I) Where the total dollar amount of stated loans was $1,000,000 or less, the bond is $25,000;
(II) Where the total dollar amount of stated loans was more than $1,000,000 but not more than $2,000,000, the bond is $30,000;
(III) Where the total dollar amount of stated loans was more than $2,000,000 but not more than $3,000,000, the bond is $40,000;
(IV) Where the total dollar amount of stated loans was more than $3,000,000, the bond is $50,000;
(iii) Action on Bond. When an action is commenced on a licensee's bond the Banking Board or its designated agent may require the filing of a new bond.
(7) New Bond. Immediately upon recovery upon any action on the bond the licensee shall file a new bond; and MINIMUM NET WORTH REQUIRED—
(A) Minimum Net Worth. A minimum net worth of $25,000 must be continuously maintained for mortgage loan originators in accordance with this subsection.
(i) If the mortgage loan originator is an employee or exclusive agent of a person subject to this subchapter, the net worth of such person subject to this subchapter may be used in lieu of the mortgage loan originator's minimum net worth requirement.
(ii) The Banking Board may promulgate rules or regulations with respect to the requirements for minimum net worth as are necessary to accomplish the purposes of this subparagraph.