The Conference of State Bank Supervisors on Friday launched a centralized link to state websites highlighting information relevant to business continuity plans for licensed mortgage loan officers.
Some states are, for example, issuing temporary guidance aimed at assuring lenders that their mortgage loan-officers can work from home without breaching licensing requirements related to office locations.
States with various forms of coronavirus guidance pertinent to MLOs as of Friday afternoon included: Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Idaho, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont and Washington.
The Pennsylvania Department of Banking also issued a statement aimed at allowing licensees to work from alternate locations, according to a press release issued by the Pennsylvania Association of Mortgage Brokers, the Mortgage Bankers Association of New Jersey and the New Jersey Association of Mortgage Brokers. New Jersey also reportedly has considered guidance.
"The Department of Banking and Securities will not take exception to licensees and registrants working from alternate site locations, whether licensed or not, only while the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is under a Proclamation of Disaster Emergency," Tim Knopp, a deputy secretary in nondepository division of the Pennsylvania Department of Banking, said in a statement.
Some of the states that have issued temporary guidance aimed at allowing loan officers on the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry to work from home also directed originators to take steps to avoid cybersecurity risks and protect private consumer information while doing so.
Several regulators have committed to providing coronavirus guidance.
