Consent Order  At Home Mortgage, Inc.

Date:	12/20/2012
Organization:	Division of Banks
Docket Number:	2012-012
Location:	New Bedford, MA

At Home Mortgage, Inc., New Bedford, MA - Consent Order

COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS

Suffolk, SS.

COMMISSIONER OF BANKS
MORTGAGE BROKER
LICENSING
Docket No. 2012-012

CONSENT ORDER

In the Matter of
AT HOME MORTGAGE, INC.

New Bedford, Massachusetts

Mortgage Broker License No. MB2222

WHEREAS, AT HOME MORTGAGE, INC., New Bedford, Massachusetts (At Home Mortgage or the Corporation), a licensed mortgage broker under Massachusetts General Laws chapter 255E, section 2, has entered into a STIPULATION AND CONSENT TO THE ISSUANCE OF A CONSENT ORDER (Consent Agreement) with representatives of the Division of Banks (Division) dated December 20, 2012, whereby, solely for the purpose of settling this matter, and without admitting any allegations or implications of fact or the existence of any violation of state or federal laws and regulations governing the conduct and operation of a mortgage broker, At Home Mortgage agrees to the issuance of this CONSENT ORDER (Consent Order) by the Commissioner of Banks (Commissioner);

WHEREAS, an examination of At Home Mortgage was conducted pursuant to General Laws chapter 255E, section 8, as of May 18, 2011 to assess the Corporation’s level of compliance with applicable state and federal statutes and regulations governing the conduct of those engaged in the business of a mortgage broker in the Commonwealth;

WHEREAS, the Report of Examination (Report) issued pursuant to the Division’s examination of At Home Mortgage alleged substantial non-compliance with applicable state and federal statutes, rules, and regulations governing the conduct of those engaged in the business of a mortgage broker in Massachusetts; and

WHEREAS, the parties now seek to resolve by mutual agreement, the matters identified in the Report.

ORDER

NOW COME the parties in the above-captioned matter, the Division and At Home Mortgage, and stipulate and agree as follows:

1. At Home Mortgage must establish, implement and maintain procedures to ensure that all mortgage loan originators with whom the Corporation conducts business are duly licensed as mortgage loan originators under Massachusetts General Laws chapter 255F, and properly sponsored through the Nationwide Multi-State Licensing System and Registry (NMLS) by At Home Mortgage.
   1. At Home Mortgage agrees to submit a payment in the amount of six thousand seven hundred fifty dollars ($6,750.00) in satisfaction of an administrative penalty collected in consideration of the Corporation’s conducting business with mortgage loan originators who did not hold active mortgage loan originator licenses. At Home Mortgage must remit payment in full of the amount indicated above, payable to the "Commonwealth of Massachusetts," with the executed copy of the Consent Agreement, to the Division of Banks, Attn: Mortgage Broker Examination Unit, 1000 Washington Street, 10^th Floor, Boston, Massachusetts 02118.
2. At Home Mortgage must establish, implement, and maintain procedures to ensure that the Corporation refrains from collecting compensation from consumers (i) in consideration of services which the Corporation, as a mortgage broker, is prohibited from performing in a mortgage loan transaction or (ii) where no, or only a nominal, service is provided by the Corporation.
   1. The Corporation must reimburse the consumer identified in the Report for the full amount of the loan discount fee that was collected by the Corporation. With the executed Consent Agreement, the Corporation must submit to the Division evidence of the reimbursement issued pursuant to this Section of the Consent Order. Evidence of the reimbursement must include the consumer’s name, the date the loan closed, the check number, the amount of the reimbursement, and a certified mail receipt.
3. At Home Mortgage must establish, implement, and maintain procedures to ensure that the Corporation refrains from providing any consumer with any disclosure which, pursuant to the applicable statute, regulation, or regulatory bulletin, is intended to be issued exclusively by the lender or creditor in the residential mortgage loan transaction, including, without limitation, the lender disclosures specifically identified in the Report.
   1. The provisions of this Section of the Consent Order shall necessarily prohibit At Home Mortgage from issuing the "Massachusetts Net Tangible Benefit Disclosure and Acknowledgment", the "Anti-Flipping/Tangible Benefit Worksheet" or any other such documentation indicating that a home loan is in a borrower’s interest pursuant to the Division’s regulation 209 CMR 53.07. It is understood that when the Corporation brokers a loan subject to the Division’s regulations regarding a lender’s determination and documentation of borrower’s interest, the Corporation is not permitted to make an affirmative determination that a home loan is in the borrower's interest nor assign the responsibility for making this determination to the borrower. However, the Corporation may request information from a borrower on behalf of the lender or transmit information to the borrower on behalf of the lender.
   2. The Corporation must issue a written notification to each mortgage lender who has received the "Massachusetts Net Tangible Benefit Disclosure and Acknowledgment", or "Anti-Flipping/Tangible Benefit Worksheet" from the Corporation. Said written notification must be in conformance with the requirements set forth in the Report. The Corporation must retain a copy of each notification in the Corporation’s books and records until such time as the Division conducts its next Examination.
4. At Home Mortgage must establish, implement, and maintain procedures to ensure that all consumers receive a loan origination and compensation agreement at the time of application, in accordance with the provisions of the Division’s regulation 209 CMR 42.16. For each consumer loan file, a completed copy of the loan origination and compensation agreement must be retained in the Corporation’s books and records, as provided in 209 CMR 42.09(1)(b).
5. At Home Mortgage must establish, implement and maintain procedures to ensure that the Corporation maintains and uses all loan documents in the Corporation’s books and records in a manner sufficient to evidence compliance with applicable state and federal statutes and regulations, in accordance with the record keeping requirements specified by the Division’s regulations 209 CMR 42.09 and 209 CMR 48.03. Such procedures shall necessarily require that the Corporation properly documents the initial date of application and ensures that all disclosures are properly dated and maintained in a manner that will allow the Commissioner to determine whether time-sensitive documents are being provided to consumers within the mandated timing requirements.
6. At Home Mortgage must establish, implement and maintain procedures to ensure that, in instances where the Corporation provides the Good Faith Estimate, the Corporation does so not later than 3 business days after receipt of an application or information sufficient to complete an application.
7. At Home Mortgage must revise its "Certification and Authorization" form to eliminate any representation or statement that could be considered false, misleading, or have the tendency to be misleading, including, but not limited to, any representation that the Corporation, a licensed mortgage broker, is approving or funding the loan.
8. At Home Mortgage must comply with all laws and regulations applicable to its conducting the business of a mortgage broker, including, but not limited to, Massachusetts General Laws chapters 255E and 255F, and the Division’s regulations 209 CMR 41.00 et seq. and 209 CMR 42.00 et seq. Such obligations shall necessarily include the duty to address and correct, within 20 days of receipt of the Report, all violations and areas of concern addressed in the Report.
   1. Within 20 days of At Home Mortgage’s receipt of the Report, the Corporation must submit to the Commissioner a written response that addresses each of the violations and areas of concern specified in the Report. The written response must describe the revised policies and procedures adopted by At Home Mortgage to implement all corrective actions set forth in: (i) the "Examiner’s Comments and Conclusions" section of the Report and (ii) the provisions of this Consent Order.
   2. Within thirty days of the effective date of this Consent Order, At Home Mortgage must establish, implement, and maintain quality control standards which provide for a loan review process to assess the Corporation’s compliance with: (i) the statutes, rules, regulations, regulatory bulletins, and other relevant provisions of law applicable to those engaged in the business of a mortgage broker in Massachusetts, and (ii) the provisions of this Consent Order; and
   3. At Home Mortgage must establish, implement, and maintain procedures and policies to ensure that all applicable staff persons receive adequate instruction and ongoing, periodic training to ensure proper implementation and execution of the revised practices and procedures implemented pursuant to this Consent Order.
9. On the thirtieth day after the end of each calendar quarter following the date of this Consent Order, At Home Mortgage must furnish written progress reports to the Division, which must address and include the following:
   1. A description of the form, content, and manner of any actions taken to address each Section of this Consent Order and the results thereof; and
   2. Written findings prepared by At Home Mortgage detailing a review of management’s and staff persons’ adherence to the policies, programs, and procedures adopted pursuant to this Consent Order and to applicable statutes, regulations, and rules, as well as a description of any operational changes implemented during such quarter which are intended to improve At Home Mortgage’s compliance condition in Massachusetts, and the results thereof.
10. The reporting requirement to the Division referenced in Section 9 of this Consent Order shall remain in effect and shall not be amended or rescinded without the prior written modification, termination, or suspension of the applicable provision of this Consent Order from the Commissioner.
11. Nothing in this Consent Order shall be construed as permitting At Home Mortgage to violate any law, rule, regulation, or regulatory bulletin to which At Home Mortgage is subject.
12. In consideration of the foregoing Consent Order, the Division agrees not to pursue formal measures, relative to this matter, to suspend or revoke At Home Mortgage’s mortgage company license(s) under Massachusetts General Laws chapter 255E, section 6, while this Consent Order is in effect.
13. Failure to comply with the terms of this Consent Order shall constitute grounds for license suspension and/or revocation, or other formal regulatory actions pursuant to applicable provisions of the General Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
14. This Consent Order shall become effective immediately upon the date of its issuance.
15. At Home Mortgage agrees that, in the event that the Corporation fails to submit the payments set forth in this Consent Order in the amounts specified herein and in accordance with the applicable deadlines, the Division shall be authorized to submit a claim for such amounts against the mortgage broker Massachusetts surety bond maintained by At Home Mortgage pursuant to the Division’s regulation 209 42.06(2)(a).
16. The provisions of this Consent Order shall remain effective and enforceable except to the extent that, and until such time as, any provisions of this Consent Order shall have been modified, terminated, suspended, or set aside by the Commissioner or upon an order of a court of competent jurisdiction.
17. This Consent Order and the Consent Agreement are the complete documents representing the resolution of this matter. There are no other agreements between the Division and At Home Mortgage.

BY ORDER AND DIRECTION OF THE COMMISSIONER OF BANKS:

Dated at Boston, Massachusetts, this 20th day of December, 2012

By:
David J. Cotney
Commissioner of Banks
Commonwealth of Massachusetts

THIS CONSENT ORDER WAS TERMINATED ON DECEMBER 24, 2014.