Joint Public Hearing with Administration and Finance on 801 CMR 4.02, relative to various fees applicable to licensees of the Division of Banks

Pursuant to the provisions of Massachusetts General Laws chapter 7, section 3B and in accordance with Massachusetts General Laws chapter 30A, section 2, a joint public hearing will be held on Wednesday, March 18, 2009 at 11:00 a.m., Hearing Room A, 5th Floor, One South Station, Boston, Massachusetts at which comments will be received by the Executive Office for Administration and Finance and the Division of Banks (Division) relative to the increase of certain existing fees assessed licensees under regulation 801CMR 4.02  .

The fees that are being increased can be characterized as examination fees, annual licensing fees, and investigation fees. Except as noted, the proposed fee increases will impact all licensees of the Division. The 11 entities licensed by the Division are small loan companies, motor vehicle finance companies, insurance premium finance companies, retail installment sales finance companies, debt collectors, check cashers, checks sellers, foreign transmittal agencies, mortgage lenders, mortgage brokers and mortgage loan originators. The examination fee for all non-bank licensees will be changed from a per diem fee of $220 per examiner to $60 per hour per examiner to more accurately reflect among other things costs when an examination includes a fraction of a day. The proposed increase from $500 to a standard $1,000 for the annual licensing fee will serve to provide uniformity to existing fees and reflect the increased cost of supervision of these licensees. The proposed change to the annual licensing fee will not apply to mortgage lenders, mortgage brokers and mortgage loan originators due to other recent increased fees for the mortgage industry. The investigation fee of $115 for a new license application will be increased to $300 and the fee for an office relocation investigation will be set at $200. The new investigation fee will not apply to mortgage loan originators. As part of this process the separate listing of each type of fee for each type of licensee will be changed to a consolidated fee reference based on the transaction. Other changes may be made based on testimony received at the public hearing or during the comment period.

Written comments may be submitted to the Division on the proposed fees until 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 19, 2009. Copies of the proposed fees are available at, and copies may be obtained from, the Massachusetts Division of Banks, One South Station, Boston, Massachusetts 02110 or at Division of Banks.