HMDA Reporting is changing and it looks like it affects Brokers now.

I got a call from a client about changes to HMDA, specifically if these changes affected him as a Broker only. Usually Brokers left this function up to their lenders because the lenders made the credit decision.

There are some new rules going into effect. The new rule eliminated the asset test for lenders. Whereas in the past some lenders may have been excluded from having to file because their assets were smaller, that’s no longer the case. There are some other major changes coming in 2017.

The language I saw said if Lenders made the lending decision on at least 25 loans that closed in the last year then they had to file. This is a significantly lower threshold than the current 2016 level  of 100 closed loans. But then the CFPB chimed in.

The CFPB published a warning sent to 44 “Brokers and Lenders“. The CFPB uses the word “Brokers”. Why did they say “Brokers”?

So here is what I found, the rule the CFPB pointed to does not talk about the lending decision. It specifically mentions originating home purchase loans. This is taken from the CFPB letter.

Annually, a for-profit mortgage-lending institution other than a bank, savings association, or credit union, must collect, record, and report data identified in HMDA and Regulation C to the appropriate Federal agency when: (i) in the preceding calendar year, it either: (A) originated home purchase loans, including refinancings of home purchase loans, that equaled at least 10 percent of its loan-origination volume, measured in dollars; or (B) originated home purchase loans, including refinancings of home purchase loans, that equaled at least $25 million; and (ii) on the preceding December 31, it had a home or branch office in a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA); and (iii) it either: (A) on the preceding December 31, had total assets of more than $10 million, counting the assets of any parent corporation; or (B) in the preceding calendar year, originated at least 100 home purchase loans, including refinancings of home purchase loans.  12 C.F.R. §§ 1003.2, 1003.4, 1003.5.

Guys, I think you better crank up your HMDA data collection effective January. You could always argue with the CFPB that all you did was take an application, but the attached agency chart quickly makes that a mute point. 2016-hmda-reporting-criteria-102716

Notice how it says “receive applications, originate, or purchase”? Broad.

I will dig into this a little deeper, but for now, prepare as if you will have to report.

Nelson A. Locke, Esq.

(800) 656-4584

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m not changing my mind on this one. An NMLS sponsored MLO is an employee. Period.

October 18^th, 2016

The debate rages on. Unfortunately, most of those who have challenged our position that an MLO must be a W-2 – are either asking the wrong people for advice, or are not asking the question in an open and honest way.

If you have found an attorney who is telling you your 1099 practice is just fine, ask him for his written legal opinion. You will need that to show to the regulator that makes this an issue. While it won’t guarantee you won’t have a finding or fine, it is a defense of sort. Except I warned you, didn’t I. And the attorney won’t pay your fine for you.

The only reasonable conclusion is that a sponsored MLO is an employee.

We include the attachment titled 22-mlo-w2-discussion-021015 to our clients at the front of our MLO Policy Manual – Book Two. You should read this first. Let’s set the stage.  

Now, if you are saying your state regulator is ignoring this issue their misfeasance does not mean you are not at personal risk for violating Safe Act, CFPB, IRS, and DOJ rules. The facts are clear – the CFPB has asked the states to look for violations of federal regs when auditing. When the CFPB issued its updated exam guidance, it again asked the states to assist.

Now see attached pdf extractions, highlighted sections. The cfpb-exam-manual-irs-references-and-employee-definition-101816 is a 924 page “guide”. I saved you some time and copied the three pages that matter for you. Next, look at originatorcompensation-and-thefedrule_q-a. This is a transcript from an Industry Legal Webinar held in 2011.

Note the reference to the common law test – the common law definition of employee. Not YOUR definition, but what the IRS test uses to determine if a MLO is independent, or not. Let me give it to you here.

Directly from the IRS:

Under common-law rules, anyone who performs services for you is your employee if you can control what will be done and how it will be done. This is so even when you give the employee freedom of action. What matters is that you have the right to control the details of how the services are performed.

You are not an independent contractor if you perform services that can be controlled by an employer (what will be done and how it will be done). This applies even if you are given freedom of action. What matters is that the employer has the legal right to control the details of how the services are performed.

NOW about the Fair Labor Standards Act:

In an attempt to interpret provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act and discern between employee and independent contractor status, courts and federal agencies have come up with the “economic realities test.” It looks at the dependence of the worker on the business for which he or she works. If a person gains a large portion of their salary or commission from that business, chances are that person qualifies as an employee.

These courts also use the “right to control” test. When the hiring party controls the way work is carried out and a product is delivered, the relationship between the parties is employer/employee. If you are sponsored and your Broker has to answer for your work, you are an employee.

If an employer does not have any authority over how a party accomplishes his or her work the relationship between the parties is that of independent contractor. But that can’t be: you are sponsored, right? And can only “work” at one place at a time, right?

We are always looking for new clients. If you need to tighten up your compliance efforts, call us at (800) 656-4584.